


Coffee Shop

by PickledDeath



Category: Fae Tales - not_poignant
Genre: Alcohol, Alternate Universe - Coffee Shops & Cafés, Anal Fingering, Anal Plug, Anal Sex, Blow Jobs, Breathplay, Emotional/Psychological Abuse, Frottage, Implied/Referenced Alcohol Abuse/Alcoholism, Light Bondage, Light Dom/sub, M/M, Mild Language, Minor Character Death, Unsafe Sex
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-01-11
Updated: 2014-10-09
Packaged: 2018-01-08 07:27:38
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 12
Words: 35,771
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1129947
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PickledDeath/pseuds/PickledDeath
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>In an effort to step further away from a management role in the Seelie Bakery and Coffee Shop, Gwyn ap Nudd starts looking for a new manager. The only person who seems qualified for the role is one Augus Each Uisge, a rude, overbearing man who used to work for the competition. But, the more Gwyn looks at the other applications the more he realizes that Augus is the only person he can responsibly hire.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [not_poignant](https://archiveofourown.org/users/not_poignant/gifts).
  * Inspired by [Game Theory](https://archiveofourown.org/works/915296) by [not_poignant](https://archiveofourown.org/users/not_poignant/pseuds/not_poignant). 



> This is based off of and utilizes characters from Game Theory by not_poignant.

Gwyn shuffled the papers in front of him before sitting back with a sigh. He pinched the bridge of his nose between his thumb and forefinger. There was a headache beginning in the very front of his head. He didn’t doubt that by the time he got home (if he ever got home tonight) it would be a full fledged migraine. And he’d left his medication at home, of course.

It was nearly one in the morning and Gwyn had looked through the stack of resumes in front of him no less than five times since he sat down at his desk in the back of the small coffee shop he owned and managed. The Seelie Bakery and Coffee Shop had been owned by his father since he was a young man and Gwyn had inherited it along with a number of other properties and business’ since his father’s death. However, this business in particular was important to him. When he gained ownership of it he began working as a full time manager. He loved his shop. It was a labor of love. But, he had conceded that his mother was right and that he was perhaps mixing business and emotion too much by both owning and managing the shop.

Unfortunately, Gwyn simply couldn’t bring himself to hire another manager. So many resumes that had been submitted were lacking. The applicants either had the managing experience, but no experience with bakeries or coffee shops. Or, they had the experience in coffee shops, but not in managing others. There was only one applicant that Gwyn had interviewed that fit both requirements, but Gwyn couldn’t imagine such a man running his shop.

Augus Each Uisge had walked into his shop as if he owned it already. He had sat down at the table in the back where Gwyn had all his papers spread out and tucked his chin up into the air and his hands in his pockets. Gwyn had immediately felt a twinge in his lower belly that was not at all unfamiliar. He and Augus had met before, many years before, before Gwyn’s father had died. Their parting hadn’t been on the best of terms.

Gwyn spent a lot of their interview berating himself. Augus was not an common name, even in Cardiff. He had no idea how he had read over the resume in front of him and not made the connection between the man on the page and the one in his past.

Augus had been sarcastic, cynical, and cutting through out the entire interview. It was obvious that he knew he was perfectly qualified for the position, but had no expectations of being hired. Gwyn wondered why he had even showed up.

Gwyn huffed a breath out, braced his elbows on his cluttered desk, and rested his head in his hands. In a few hours Albion would show up to start baking. Gwyn had already scrubbed and inventoried virtually every inch of the store to try and put off finally making his decision. He simply had to pick a new manager. Managing the shop himself was no longer an option.

Mustering his determination, Gwyn pulled the resume he needed from the top of the stack and threw the rest into the garbage can. Augus’ resume remained lying on top of his scraped and stained blotter. Gwyn suppressed a sigh through his nose. He stood up, rubbed his eyes, and flicked the light switch casting his office into darkness.

Gwyn shrugged his jacket on, unlocked the front door, and stepped out into the cold night. His breath clouded around his face in the cold. The smell of the sea came bracing and sharp from the bay just a few miles away. Looking up, Gwyn saw that the moon was full. He thought he remembered someone telling him that full moons were known to cause madness. He really hoped his decision wasn’t just that.

* * *

Augus jerked awake when he heard someone at the door. He had fallen asleep on the couch with the TV on. The television was just throwing static when he looked at it. Augus arched his neck, grimacing around a crick, and checked the clock. It was nearly five in the morning. Groaning, Augus let his head fall back to the arm of the couch.

Ash, despite coming home late almost every night, never seemed to master doing so quietly. He jiggled his key in the lock and all of the other keys on his keyring danced against the scratched front door. Augus heard Ash giggling under his breath before he accidentally knocked his guitar case against the door like he always did. A female voice giggled behind him at the noise and Augus heard Ash make a shooshing noise at the girl.

The lights flashed on overhead and Augus groaned and pulled the blankets over his head.

“Bro? What are you doing on the couch?” Ash slurred a little. Augus heard him put his guitar case on the ground by the door before turning to the door and saying something low to the girl Augus assumed was behind him. He heard the girl bid farewell and Ash closing the door behind her.

Ash made a weaving trail over to the couch before collapsing onto the opposite end. Augus buried his chilled toes under Ash’s thigh.

“I fell asleep on the couch,” Augus muttered into the couch cushion before turning his head and giving Ash a bleary suspicious look. “Was that Gulvi?” Augus asked.

Ash quickly looked away and ran a hand across his mouth. That was all the answer Augus needed. He huffed a disapproving sound and snuggled back into the couch.

After a few minutes of silence, Ash asked, “Were you waiting for me again?”

“I always wait for you to come home,” Augus responded in a matter-of-fact tone.

Ash groaned loudly. “Bro! I told you already, don’t wait up for me! My gigs always run late and then you’re always tired the next day. I’m a grown man! You don’t need to wait up for me.”

Augus bit back a quick retort about how grown up Ash really was. He was twenty-three and still enamored with the idea of becoming a rock star. Augus had endorsed the dream when he was a teenager, but was really hoping that Ash would grow out of the idea on his own. Playing in dives for beer tokens wasn’t a very good way to make a living.

Sniffing and rubbing his own face, Augus sat up and stretched his back. It popped in multiple places. He really did need to sleep in his own bed occasionally. At least in the interest of his poor aching back.

“Did you stop at a diner?” Augus asked as he stood up on unsteady feet and started to make his way to the kitchen.

“No,” Ash said slowly, following Augus.

Augus hadn’t really needed to ask Ash. If he and Gulvi had stopped at a diner to get breakfast then Ash wouldn’t be quite so unsteady on his feet. Augus popped open the fridge and pulled out a handful of eggs and a package of bacon.

“How was the gig?” he asked as he cracked the eggs into a greased pan on the stove.

Ash had taken a seat at their tiny breakfast table. “As well as usual. Nobody threw any bottles tonight, so I consider it a success. I think it helped that I didn’t do any screaming tonight. That always winds the crowd up,” Ash laughed.

Augus carefully stopped his shoulders from coming up in distaste, but let his feelings show on his face as he watched the eggs cook. He really regretted ever encouraging Ash to learn the guitar.

“How’s the job hunt going?” Ash asked cautiously.

Augus felt his face pull itself into an even deeper scowl and tried to consciously smooth it out. “I had an interview today,” he said.

“Really?” Ash responded. “That’s great, Augus! Where at? Do you think you’ll get the job?”

“It was at the Seelie Coffee Shop,” Augus responded, allowing his distaste to drip from every word. “And, no, I doubt very much I’ll get the job. I’m honestly exceedingly surprised that I was called in for an interview at all.”

Augus hadn’t recognized Gwyn’s voice on the telephone, but immediately recognized him when he walked into the shop. He didn’t know that Gwyn ran the Seelie Bakery and Coffee Shop, but it didn’t surprise him. It seemed like Gwyn’s family owned half the buildings and businesses in town these days.

“Oh?” Ash responded uncertainly. “That’s bad, I guess? I mean, why do you think you won’t get the job?”

The oven made a loud click as it finished preheating and Augus threw down a cookie sheet with a bang and began to throw the bacon strips onto it. Once all the strips were laid out, he tossed the sheet into the oven and closed it with a loud bang. Ash jumped behind him.

Augus turned to take a critical eye to his younger brother.

“You look and smell like liquor and debauchery. Go take a shower. Breakfast will be ready when you get out,” Augus snapped.

“Yes sir, big brother, sir,” Ash said sarcastically before trying to saunter out of the room. The effect was somewhat diminished by Ash keeping a hand out to the wall all the way to the bathroom.

* * *

Gwyn only slept for maybe three or four hours before he had to get up and go back into the shop to unlock the front door and help Terho set up for the early morning rush. He helped Albion put out all the pastries and cakes he had baked that morning, watched Terho to make sure his flighty little barista didn’t forget to clean the wand on the cappuccino machine, and helped to watch the counter. They really did get incredibly busy in the morning.

By ten o’clock the rush had slacked off. Terho was starting to do that maddening thing where he would clean the wand every time Gwyn so much as glanced his way. Albion was doing the dishes in the back and once he was done he would leave. The rest of the day would mostly be people coming in to take advantage of the WiFi.

Once again, Gwyn found himself trying to find reasons to put off hiring his new manager. With a sigh, Gwyn chastised himself, told Terho to call him if he needed any help minding the counter and went into his office.

Augus’ resume was still sitting on his desk where he had left it. Printed neatly at the top of the page was Augus’ telephone number. Gwyn sat down in his office chair which creaked threateningly as he leaned back. He pulled his cellphone out of his back pocket and started to thumb in Augus’ number.

Augus picked up on the third ring. He sounded tired.

“Hello?” Augus’ voice sounded thin coming from Gwyn’s phone.

Gwyn swallowed thickly. His gut tightened, but he tried to ignore it. He was an adult and one that was good at ignoring his feelings. No matter how he looked at it, Augus was the best man for the job. It would be petty to allow their shared past to sway him into hiring someone less qualified.

“Augus?” Gwyn asked even though he had recognized Augus’ voice immediately.

“This is he,” Augus replied.

“This is Gwyn. I wanted to call and let you know that you got the job, if you still want it. I’d like you to start as soon as possible. When are you available to come in and go through all the paperwork?” Gwyn said as evenly as possible. He was impressed that he sounded so professional. Like he hired ex-lovers all the time. Par for the course.

There was a long pause and Gwyn started to worry that Augus would throw it back in his face. He could imagine Augus laughing in his face and asking Gwyn what he thought he was doing. Gwyn wouldn’t have any answer for him. He had no answer for himself.

To Gwyn’s surprise, Augus replied breathlessly, “Today! I mean, I can come in today whenever you want me too. I can start as soon as possible.”

Gwyn closed his eyes and breathed out a sigh of relief. “Today sounds great. I’ll be here until closing. Come in whenever you’re ready. I’ll get the appropriate paperwork ready for you.”

“Great! Wonderful! Thank you very much, Gwyn. I’ll be there in thirty minutes!” Augus said before abruptly ending the call.

His brows furrowed, Gwyn held the phone away from his ear and looked at it as if it could offer up any answers. He supposed that either Augus wasn’t as sore about the past as he expected him to be or perhaps this job meant more to him than Gwyn had thought. Unexpectedly, Gwyn felt a flare of guilt over how close he had come to not hiring Augus. But, he reminded himself firmly that he had hired Augus. Augus would be there within half an hour.

It was then that it seemed to really hit Gwyn. Augus was going to take over managing the Seelie Bakery and Coffee Shop. Gwyn would have to work with him directly or step away from the shop all together. He supposed that he really was achieving what he set out to do as much as he possibly could. He was stepping away from the coffee shop.


	2. Chapter 2

True to his word, Augus had been at the shop within thirty minutes looking no less than perfect. Reinforcing what Gwyn had heard on the phone, he looked tired with dark smudges underneath his familiar dark green eyes. But, his long, wavy, dark brown hair was soft, combed, and gathered at the nape of his neck in a loose tie. His clothes were clean, fashionably cut, and Gwyn couldn’t spot a single wrinkle.

Gwyn expected their second meeting in as many days to be awkward. Luckily, Augus seemed just as determined as Gwyn for everything to go smoothly.

Augus blew through all the paperwork quickly. After he was done, Gwyn took him on a short tour of the shop. He took him through the bakery in the back, through all the machines and supplies at the front counter, as well as all the health and safety regulations. Augus listened carefully, only interjecting shortly here and there. He seemed to be familiar with most of their routines.

Albion had already left by the time Augus got there, but Terho was still standing awkwardly by the register and watching the two of them cautiously. Gwyn introduced Augus as Terho’s new manager and didn’t miss the twitch that went through Terho’s whole body and the way his dark brows pulled down over his eyes. Terho was his only full time barista. All the others were part time, splitting their time between school and work. When Gwyn had brought up bringing someone else in to take over managing the shop, Terho was immediately resistant. Terho was a small boy, shy and easily frightened by confrontation or new things. He was kind and very good with the customers, but wasn’t handling the idea of Gwyn not being around anymore very well. But, Gwyn couldn’t afford to worry about Terho.

Almost before he noticed, he had shown Augus everything there was to see. They were both sitting in his cramped office, Gwyn in his creaking chair and Augus perched on the edge of his desk.

“That’s about all there is. I usually come in around 5 in the morning to unlock and get everything started. If you’re available I’d like to meet you here tomorrow morning to take you through what we do to get things started in the morning. Do you have any questions for me?” Gwyn asked on an exhale. It was barely past noon, but somehow he felt exhausted.

“No, not really,” Augus said in the softer tone he seemed to reserve for one on one conversations. Gwyn kept his head down reading over a checklist he kept for hiring new employees until he felt eyes on the side of his face. He looked up to see Augus pinning him with the kind of invasive look that he remembered from years ago.

“Gwyn, I just wanted to let you know that I really appreciate you giving me this job. Things have been tight ever since Raven’s Coffee went under,” Augus looked away momentarily, his delicate brow bunching a little. “I know that in the past we didn’t end on very good terms. And, I can’t pretend to know your feelings about it now,” Gwyn looked down at his hands quickly. No, he didn’t believe Augus knew his feelings about their past relationship. “But, the past is in the past. Right?” Augus asked, leaning forward into Gwyn’s space.

Gwyn looked up at Augus cautiously. The words were innocent enough, but the way Augus inflected the last word made it sound like he honestly wanted to know Gwyn’s thoughts on their shared past. Gwyn swallowed around a suddenly dry throat and struggled to pull a friendly smile across his face.

“Right,” he replied.

If Augus’ expression was anything to go by, Gwyn’s reply had done little to assuage any doubts he had about their past relationship affecting their current one.

“Anyway, you’ll be paid the full eight hours for coming in today. If it’s okay, we can meet out front tomorrow at five. I’ll take you through a day managing the shop and introduce you to our baker and supplier. I’ll stay in the shop for the next week in case you need me. But, after that I’ll be pulling back into more of an ownership role,” Gwyn explained, standing up and reaching around Augus to open his door.

Augus arched an eyebrow at the ‘ownership role’ part of Gwyn’s explanation, but Gwyn did his best to ignore it.

Slipping off the desk, Augus turned and left first. Gwyn followed Augus to the front door and opened the door for him. As Augus walked past him he looked up at Gwyn with a smirk and a strangely familiar sparkle in his eyes. Gwyn felt his face flush.

“See you tomorrow, boss,” Augus said before sauntering out into the main thoroughfare.

Gwyn took a few deep breaths in and out through his nose. Hiring Augus was seeming more and more like a bad idea.

* * *

Augus sat on the floor of his tiny kitchen with all kinds of spices, mixes, and jars of spreads and flavors around him. It was a stupid habit, but organizing his kitchen often helped him to think and he definitely needed to think this out.

When he first got the call from Gwyn saying he got the job he expected that it was going to be exceptionally difficult to work with him. Augus had been through messy break-ups before. Especially when he was young, reckless, and didn’t really care who he was fucking so long as they were gorgeous (and Gwyn was most definitely gorgeous). Augus had been expecting Gwyn to be an asshole, to be cold and aloof, or to at least be awkward. To his surprise, Gwyn had been just as he remembered him from their youth.

Well, he wanted to append that. Augus had spent so long cursing Gwyn after their break-up, he knew that he had built Gwyn into quite the villain in his head. But, the Gwyn at the coffee shop had been the same sweet, socially awkward, and serious boy he remembered from his youth. It had him all mixed up inside. He would have to work with Gwyn closely in the future. He worried that he wouldn’t be able to resist making overtures. The kind of overtures that could seriously fuck up a professional working relationship.

It didn’t help that Augus had tested the waters in the shop and his instincts were telling him that Gwyn wouldn’t turn him away. He had invaded his space, lead him in conversation, and even openly flirted with him there at the end. Not once did Gwyn do anything to indicate he wouldn’t be receptive to Augus.

Augus growled in the back of his throat and scrubbed his hand through his hair (long ago having fell out of its tie). He didn’t notice Ash until he stumbled into the kitchen from his bedroom in a pair of plaid boxers and a tank top and nearly stepped on a box of hot chocolate mix.

“Shit, bro,” Ash muttered, carefully stepping around all the stuff arranged on the floor to make his way to one of the chairs. “What happened? Did someone die?”

“No,” Augus snapped, then ran a hand roughly over his face. He chided himself. It wasn’t fair to take his frustration out on Ash. “No,” Augus said more gently. “I’m trying to decide whether or not to fuck my boss,” Augus explained while debating the merits of keeping so many packets of dried onion soup mix. He didn’t even like onion soup.

“Wow! Wow, Augus. Okay, bro, listen. I am, like, the king of bad ideas and I am telling you this is a bad idea. Didn’t you just get this job?” Ash said, rocking back in his chair, his eyes opening fully for the first time since he walked into the kitchen.

“Just today,” Augus sighed, tossing half of the onion soup packets into the garbage can beside him. He would keep a few of them just in case. “It’s complicated. We used to see each other way back when. The break-up was nasty. But, we haven’t seen each other in years and he seemed just as nice as he was back when everything was sunshine and flowers. I don’t know. Maybe it’s just nostalgia,” Augus trailed off.

Ash sighed and pushed the salt shaker around the table. “I guess, if you really like him and you think he’d go for it, go for it. But, I don’t know, you’re always the responsible one. Fucking your boss doesn’t sound very responsible.”

Augus grunted in response. He didn’t say that being responsible hadn’t stopped him from fucking his last boss.

Groaning, Augus put his face in his hands. He was royally fucked.

* * *

It was 9 pm when Gwyn finally got home from work. He idly wondered if Augus would keep the same kind of hours he did. Gwyn hung his scarf and coat up in the entryway and tossed his bag onto the couch. Augus would probably be smart enough to get all his work done early and not have to stay the whole day.

Gwyn still worried if hiring Augus was a good idea. He didn’t doubt that he was qualified for the job and would do it well. What he did worry over was how being near Augus would affect him. Augus had been an extremely important person to him during a very dark time in his life. He worried that getting close to him again might spark that darkness again. He reminded himself that he just had to be strong. He wasn’t the same person he was back then.

Gwyn was just starting to think about scrounging something half sustaining out of the kitchen and taking a scalding hot shower when his phone started to ring in his bag.

His face creasing in a frown, Gwyn pulled his phone out of his bag and stared at the screen. The name ‘Crielle’ was in stark white letters at the top of the screen. Gwyn took a deep steadying breath before swiping his finger across the screen and answering the call.

“Gwyn, darling, how are you?” his mother asked as soon as he picked up the call. Her voice was muffled with miles and miles of distance, but Gwyn could still hear the honey dripping from the words.

“I’m fine, Mother. How are you?” Gwyn asked, allowing his eyes to close and his head to fall back against the couch cushions.

“Busy with this and that. You know how trying it is running your father’s business. But, wait, I suppose you don’t know much about that, do you?” his mother asked, immediately switching into a scathing tone. Gwyn forced himself to take a steadying breath. He had already heard it all, her insults shouldn’t bother him.

“You’ll be happy to hear that I’ve hired a replacement for myself at the shop,” Gwyn replied, ignoring his mother’s comment.

“Oh, have you? And, here I thought you were avoiding your responsibilities. You know I told you not to bother? Efnisien is really doing quite well running Llud’s business himself. There’s no need for you to trouble yourself.”

“Mother, you’ve been hounding me for years to get out of the shop. Now that I’m doing it, you don’t care?” Gwyn couldn’t stop himself from asking.

“Boy, if you don’t understand now perhaps you never will. So long as you keep yourself out of the public eye, I couldn’t give half a care what you do.”

Gwyn listened to dead air for probably half a minute before he realized that she had hung up. He let his hand fall heavily to the couch. He never expected her words to cut him half as well as they always did. Suddenly, his living room felt very cold and Gwyn doubted he would be sleeping much that night.

* * *

Augus was already waiting for him outside the shop when Gwyn got there early the next day. Gwyn noticed that Augus had pulled his hair back into a practical looking ponytail, his long bangs framing his face nicely. But, it looked like his ears and neck were cold and weren’t used to being exposed. Augus was bundled in a dark green and gray muffler and a tastefully cut peacoat, but he still had his shoulders hunched against the cold and his hands were shoved deep in his pockets.

Gwyn started to jog as soon as he saw Augus waiting for him. “Sorry for making you wait,” Gwyn said as he started to unlock the front door. “Here, this is yours,” he explained, handing Augus a copy of the key he had just used. “To open up in the morning.”

Gwyn held the door for Augus and only then noticed that Augus was giving him the same strangely intense look he had given him yesterday. As an almost automatic reaction, Gwyn felt his cheeks and ears start to flush at Augus’ intense scrutiny. But, after a moment, Augus gave Gwyn a small smile, tossed the key in the air and caught it, smiled at Gwyn cheekily and went inside.

It was warmer inside and Gwyn could already hear Albion banging around in the back. Gwyn closed and locked the door again after Augus went inside. Augus had strolled purposefully over to the counter and had levered himself up onto it. He had crossed his legs at the ankles and was swinging his legs back and forth.

Frowning, Gwyn went over to Augus. “I’m not sure if that is something most health code officials would condone,” Gwyn chastised as he walked up to Augus.

As soon as Gwyn was within striking distance, Augus reached out and snagged Gwyn by the front of his jacket and yanked him roughly forward. Gwyn was barely able to stop himself from falling by putting a hand on Augus’ shoulder and another on the display case to his right. Gwyn opened his mouth to say something, he wasn’t sure what, but whatever it was Augus gobbled it up.

His mouth was on Gwyn’s. His lips were cold, but smeared with something sticky that tasted like honey. Gwyn gasped and Augus took the opportunity to plunge his tongue into Gwyn’s mouth. Augus’ tongue tasted minty. He must have brushed his teeth just before he had come to work. Gwyn knew he should push himself away from Augus. He should break the kiss and fire Augus, find someone else. Or, find no one else and just keep running his shop just as he liked. Just as he had been doing for years.

But, Augus’ tongue was hot and agile in his mouth. His lips were warming against his own. Whatever chapstick Augus used, it was making Gwyn’s lips tingle.

Gwyn started to moan in the back of his throat. When was the last time he had been kissed, that his mouth had been plundered like this? Not since he had last been with Augus? Gwyn couldn’t accept that it had been that long.

Almost before it had started, Augus leaned back just an inch and broke the kiss. Gwyn tried to follow, but Augus held him back with the hand he still had in his jacket. They stayed close breathing each other’s air and staring, searching at each other’s face.

“Gwyn,” Augus said breathlessly, “We need to talk.”

Gwyn closed his eyes.


	3. Chapter 3

A few minutes later found the two men cramped back into Gwyn’s office. This time Augus was seated in the rickety office chair and Gwyn was standing awkwardly in the doorway. They had left the lights off in the storefront and turned the lights on in the office. The dim twilight outside meant that the overhead light in the office sent long shadows streaking behind the counter.

Augus seemed to be angry, but Gwyn couldn’t imagine why. He thought that he must have done something wrong. He always was awfully hopeless at relationships, romantic or otherwise. The only social area he seemed to excel in was the professional. Whatever gaff he had made, Gwn fully intended to apologize to Augus and make it clear that if he still wanted the manager jo, of course he still had it. If not, he would be happy to provide excellent references.

“Gwyn,” Augus started after the two had been in the office for a few minutes with neither saying anything. “I hope you’ll forgive me for being forward. I think it would be best to just get this off my chest.” Augus took a deep breath and rubbed his hands over his eyes. Gwyn wondered if Augus was used to being awake so early. “Gwyn, I believe I’m still attracted to you.”

As unlikely as it seemed, Gwyn was quite sure his heart literally skipped a beat. At least, his chest certainly twisted in pain as if it had. This was the last thing Gwyn had expected to hear from Augus. Well, maybe the kiss was a bit of a hint. But, with the way it had ended for them last time he couldn’t imagine Augus ever wanting to experience a repeat. Hell, it was hard for Gwyn to imagine going through all that again.

“Is...” Gwyn paused, tried to think through what he was about to say, but failed to get his brain to any kind of functioning level, “Is that bad?”

Augus gave Gwyn the kind of look that seemed especially cultivated to scorch the hair right off of any less oblivious man. “Yes, Gwyn, that is bad. In my experience, workplace romance is always bad for any multitude of reasons.”

Gwyn furrowed his brows and stared at the scuffed tips of his sneakers. “Of course, you’re right,” he said after a moment. “Pursuing a relationship with a co-worker would be highly unprofessional...”

Gwyn rubbed his throat as his mind began to restart and took off running. Augus liked him and was trying to be honest by telling Gwyn so before he really hired him. Gwyn very much appreciated Augus’ honesty, but the sheer thought of Augus liking him was a sticking point. He couldn’t seem to get his head around it.

But, Augus didn’t want to have a relationship with a co-worker. Of course, if Gwyn continued with his original plan of pulling out of the shop all together (as much as it would hurt him to do so) he and Augus would no longer be very close co-workers. Gwyn would still be the owner, but so long as the shop continued to make a profit he wouldn’t have to get involved intimately. ‘Brilliant!’ Gwyn’s mind exclaimed ‘Awfully presumptuous, but definitely brilliant.’

“But,” Gwyn rasped around the frog that had quickly developed in his throat, “If your training goes well you’ll be able to take over as manager shortly and I’ll be able to retire to just being the owner. We won’t have to work in close quarters then.”

Augus raised an eyebrow at Gwyn and narrowed his eyes. He admitted that the idea sounded better in his head.

“Yes, but you’ll still be my boss. Won’t any romantic entanglement affect your business decisions?” Augus sniped.

“No, I don’t think so,” Gwyn replied calmly. As much history as they had, Gwyn was not shy. He doubted that being involved with Augus would stop him from voicing his opinions on the shop.

At that, Augus’ other eyebrow climbed up his forehead to match the first. He was surprised. Gwyn could decipher that much.

But, then Augus looked away and appeared troubled. Gwyn wasn’t sure exactly why Augus was upset. He had said he was still attracted to Gwyn (still a point that Gwyn was experiencing difficulty absorbing). He understood that Augus was probably expecting to be fired. Maybe Gwyn wasn’t being clear enough about his intentions.

Taking a deep breath, Gwyn mustered his courage. He told himself not to think too hard about what he was doing before he did it.

“Augus, if you’d like to go out with me, I’d very much like that. I don’t believe it would cloud my business acumen where you’re concerned. And, while I know that we had issues in our youth, things have changed. I’ve changed. I’d very much like to try. If you still want to, that is,” Gwyn said as slowly and calmly as he could.

Augus regarded Gwyn with cautious eyes. He looked worried, suspicious, but most of all hopeful. Gwyn was putting a lot of weight into the hope in Augus’ expression.

“Okay,” Augus replied quietly.

* * *

Augus felt just about ready to collapse by the time Gwyn finally shooed the last of the late night study students out the front door. Gwyn had warned him that the first day he wanted Augus to be there from open to close to see what a full day at the shop was like.

It gave Augus no small amount of discomfort to see that Gwyn seemed to easily maintain one level of energy throughout the whole day while Augus had been sneaking espressos since three pm to try and stay up. He wondered if Gwyn had some kind of secret. Possibly he kept a stash of stackers in his desk. Augus wished that was true, even though he knew it was more likely that Gwyn just had a lot more stamina than he did.

Gwyn returned to the counter where Augus was doing his best to lean on it without appearing to do so. The blond’s face split into a warm smile.

“I think you did really well today, Augus. How did you like it?” Gwyn asked.

Augus barely held back a grimace. “Well, as much as I expected it to be like my previous job, it was very different. But, I think I’ll get used to it,” Augus responded. ‘So long as I don’t have to work another crazy day like this again,’ Augus added to himself.

“Good! Good,” Gwyn responded. Augus noticed him nervously tapping his fingers on the counter before he seemed to catch himself and stop. “You’re probably tired,” Gwyn added. It didn’t sound like a question.

“A little,” Augus agreed. “Are you?” he pried.

Gwyn seemed surprised by the question. “Me? No, not really. I don’t need to sleep much,” Gwyn explained shortly.

“I see,” Augus responded uncertainly. He had no idea what that meant. Did Gwyn have insomnia, did he have trouble staying asleep, or was it like a conscious choice? Augus let the silence stretch to see if Gwyn would elaborate, but he just went back to nervously tapping his fingers on the counter.

“So, is there anything else you do after you close up?” Augus asked.

“No. We covered most everything in the past half hour. If anyone had ordered anything in that time you would have to had to clean anything used again, of course. But, other than that you’re free to go home. I’ll walk you to the back door if you’re ready,” Gwyn explained quickly.

Augus gave Gwyn an unimpressed look. He knew that Gwyn wanted to ask him something, but was obviously unable to muster up the courage to do so. Admittedly, it made him happy to know that there were things about the possibly-not-even-started-yet relationship that they may or may not be entering into that made him uncomfortable too.

The two men walked through a swinging door into the kitchen and then to a small back door. Augus pulled his coat off of a peg near the door and put it on before yanking the rubber band out of his hair and shaking it out. He noticed Gwyn staring and gave him a confident smirk.

“Do you like it?” Augus asked.

Gwyn stared for a moment. “It got longer,” he replied.

Augus resisted the urge to snort. “That doesn’t answer whether or not you like it.”

“Oh! Yes, it’s beautiful,” Gwyn said. Augus felt himself start to flush. He had just meant to tease Gwyn. He wasn’t really fishing for compliments, but sometimes Gwyn surprised him with his little bouts of honesty.

Gwyn reached up and caught wavy strand of dark hair between his fingers before yanking his hand back. “Sorry, that was inappropriate” he muttered, turning back to the door and pulling it open.

Before he was really sure what he was doing, Augus reached out and grabbed Gwyn by his arm and yanked him back inside. He pulled Gwyn around and shoved him until his back was thrown against the now closed door.

Augus got in close. His body was flush with Gwyn’s and even through the layers of clothing Augus could feel Gwyn’s body heat. There was a voice in his head that was telling him this was stupid. It was extremely reckless to get physical so fast. They had so much emotional baggage, he knew they should work out their feelings before they started to fuck. But, it had been a long time since had been this into someone and the voice was a small one that was all but drowned out by the thudding of his blood moving south.

“Gwyn,” Augus breathed against Gwyn’s mouth, “Don’t be a tease.”


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please take note that the rating is jumping up to Explicit with this chapter. Also, added tags include blow jobs, unsafe sex, and breath play.
> 
> Also! I have edited previous chapters. The most noticeable editing is that Jack has been removed / replaced with Terho. You probably don't need to read the previous chapters, but just keep that in mind moving forward.

Gwyn experienced a small moment of clarity somewhere between the back door and the stainless steel work table. He realized that in the space of less than a week his life had gone from being the most rigorously repetitious existence to the kind of life he might expect to see on a late night drama. In less than three days he had been thrown together with an ex, hired that ex, and was now in the process of engaging in sexual congress with that ex in a darkened kitchen.

Augus was much stronger than Gwyn expected or remembered. His long thin fingers looked delicate and dextrous, but possessed the strength needed to manhandle Gwyn backward and onto the shining stainless steel table in the middle of the room. The lights were off in the store, but a few emergency lights always stayed on here and there. It was enough to see Augus shrug out of his coat in one fluid motion before climbing on top of Gwyn.

Catching his breath, Gwyn gasped, “Augus,” a second before the smaller man covered his mouth with his own. “Maybe we shouldn’t do this,” Gwyn mumbled against Augus’ mouth. His lips tasted sweet and waxy. Gwyn wondered what kind of chapstick he used.

“Give me three good reasons why we should stop,” Augus growled, pulling Gwyn’s shirt up off of his stomach like it did something to him personally and running sharp fingernails over his flanks.

Struggling to maintain his higher regions of thought, Gwyn gasped out, “We are co-workers, this table is used to prepare food, and you looked very tired?” Gwyn hadn’t meant for the last one to be a question, but he was having trouble justifying stopping to himself.

Augus hovered over Gwyn with an impatient look. He held up three fingers and folded them against his palm as he invalidated each of Gwyn’s arguments. “We already have decided to date, regardless of working together, I’ll clean the table after, and I will tell you when I am tired and when I am not. I am not tired.”

Opening his mouth, Gwyn tried to think of something to say. But, nothing was coming. He closed his mouth with a click of his teeth.

A satisfied smile stretched over Augus’ face. “Good. If you’re just about done, I’ve been wanting to do this since yesterday.”

Running his hands back down the sides of Gwyn’s torso, Augus tucked his fingers into the waistband of Gwyn’s jeans. He ran his fingers between the fabric and Gwyn’s skin appreciatively a few times before he took firm hold of the button and buttonhole and separated the two with a sharp tug. Gwyn gasped as the blood rushed to his dick. He was used to getting hard very fast in these sort of situations, but this one seemed to have snuck up on him a bit.

Augus made a cooing sound in the back of his throat before palming Gwyn appreciatively through his shorts.

“Ah, Augus,” Gwyn sighed, letting his head fall backward with a soft thud against the metal table.

He heard Augus laugh under his breath. “I like it when you say my name. You should make it a habit.”

Augus graced him with a few more firm strokes through the soft fabric of his jockey shorts before reaching up and tucking his long agile fingers into the waistband below each hip once more. With a surprisingly strong yank, Augus was able to pull Gwyn’s pants and shorts together half way down his thighs. Gwyn felt the blood rush to his face as he felt cool air hit his dick.

There was a soft sigh from above him. Gwyn pushed himself up onto his elbows.

“You know, my memory never really did it justice,” Augus smirked, wrapping those long lovely fingers around Gwyn’s rigid flesh. Augus laughed when Gwyn’s dick jumped in his hand.

“Fuck, Augus,” Gwyn sighed, not able to pull his eyes away from the sight of Augus’ darker fingers wrapped around his pale red dick.

“What do you want, Gwyn?” Augus breathed. He was straddling Gwyn’s thighs and his face looked hungry framed by his own dark hair and the low lights. “Tell me. Beg me,” he said.

Gwyn swallowed around the dryness in his throat. He glanced back down at Augus’ hand on his dick. It was moving slowly, wrapped around him tight and unyielding, occasionally slowly pulling up before moving back down.

When Gwyn answered, he answered impulsively with the one thing that stood out most strongly in his mind. “I want to suck you,” he said quietly.

Augus’ eyebrows creeped toward his hairline before his face split into a feral grin. He leaned down over Gwyn, his dick still clenched in his hand, his teeth white and shining in the half light of the fluorescents. When he breathed out against Gwyn’s heated cheeks, his breath smelled like strong black coffee.

“Oh, Gwyn,” he sighed. “You did always like that. I think I forgot. Is that really what you want?” he asked sweetly.

Gwyn pulled a deep breath into his lungs. Around the fog of lust in his head, he thought he smelled something sweet, like icing or caramel.

“Yes,” he breathed, his voice sounding hoarse.

If possible, Augus’ expression became more predatory. He tangled his fingers into Gwyn’s curls and pulled. He kept guiding Gwyn forward until they were both standing on the greasy red tile floor. Augus pulled Gwyn forward for one more kiss, his lips strangely gentle and his breath gusting hot into Gwyn’s mouth on an exhale. They parted and stood close breathing each other’s air for a moment until the corners of Augus’ mouth quirked into a smile and he yanked Gwyn down onto his knees by his unrelenting hold on his hair.

“There you are, love,” Gwyn heard Augus breath above him. His long fingers began to smooth over his curls and gently coax his face closer to his crotch. Gwyn settled his hands on Augus’ thighs and pressed his lips to the slight bulge in Augus’ pants. There was a satisfying sigh above him and Gwyn moaned as his dick twitched in response.

With trembling fingers, Gwyn fumbled with the button and zipper on Augus’ pants. Augus’ fingers kept moving over his head, his thumb traced the arch of his eyebrow and his fingertips dipped along the sensitive skin behind his ear. Gwyn shivered at Augus’ soft touch.

When he was finally able to pull the soft gray fabric of Augus’ pants away, Gwyn pressed his open mouth against the swell of Augus’ cock underneath the fabric of his underwear. Augus was only half hard, his flesh still somewhat soft and spongy, but hardening noticeably under Gwyn’s mouth.

Gwyn took his time mouthing Augus through his underwear and Augus didn’t seem to have any intention of hurrying him along. When Augus was fully hard and straining against the fabric of his shorts, Gwyn cautiously, reverently, took hold of the elastic waistband and pulled it away from Augus stomach before slowly pulling it down to release his cock.

Augus’ dick was a little smaller than his (a tad shorter and thinner). It was also darker, the skin velvety and darkening at the tip and toward the root. His pubic hairs were glossy black and straight. Gwyn swallowed anxiously. The smell of him wafted over him, deep and musky and very masculine.

Opening his mouth again, Gwyn ran the flat of his tongue from the base of Augus’ dick all the way to the crown where he closed it in his mouth and sucked hard. He heard Augus hiss above him and felt his dick twitch in response. With enthusiasm, he began to suck Augus off. He worked his way lower quickly and felt Augus’ dick touch the back of his throat. He resisted the urge to gag.

“Stop, stop, stop,” Augus said from above him. Gwyn didn’t really hear him until he felt himself being hauled off of Augus’ dick by his grip on his hair. “Slow down, will you? It’s not a race. Is there somewhere you need to be?” Augus asked and he sounded angry.

Gwyn furrowed his brow as he looked up, confused. “No...” he said slowly.

Augus huffed out a breath above him in exasperation. He smoothed a hand over Gwyn’s head from his forehead to the back of his neck. “Take your time. Savor it. I’m not going anywhere,” Augus said quietly.

He felt his face flush a little and licked his lips. He felt somewhat ashamed to think that he was so overeager and made a resolution to move more languidly.

Refocused, Gwyn looked at Augus’ cock again, now shiny with his spit. He took the head into his mouth and began bobbing his head more slowly this time. He was rewarded when he started to hear Augus’ breathing get louder above him.

Augus scratched his fingernails over Gwyn’s scalp and Gwyn moaned his approval around Augus’ dick. As things progressed, Augus began to rock his hips against Gwyn’s mouth and Gwyn felt himself flush hot at the feeling of Augus pressing into his mouth, against his tongue.

“Do you like that, dearheart?” Augus cooed above him.

Gwyn groaned again to show his enthusiasm.

After a few more stronger thrusts, Augus reached down and moved Gwyn’s hands to the backs of his thighs.

“Keep those there,” he whispered, rubbing his hands over Gwyn’s head the same way most people pet a dog. “Now, then. Let’s try something. Just pinch me if you want to stop. Understand, love?”

Gwyn squeezed Augus’ thighs in response. Augus was still thrusting lazily into his mouth and Gwyn’s dick was starting to ache, already heavy and hard between his legs.

“All right,” Augus said, mostly to himself, before resting one hand on the back of Gwyn’s head and another on his cheek. Gwyn felt Augus carefully press his head forward while his hips thrust toward him. It was as deep as the first time Gwyn had sucked Augus down and made him gasp as the tip of Augus’ cock touched the back of his throat.

Gwyn coughed and Augus pulled back so that he fell out of Gwyn’s mouth. Looking up, Gwyn distantly noted that Augus’ expression was somewhere between tormented and painfully aroused.

“Yes?” Augus asked quietly.

“Yes,” Gwyn said roughly. “Again.”

When he felt Augus pressing on the back of his head, Gwyn went forward willingly. Augus started pressing into Gwyn again, his hand pushing his head forward even as his hips rocked into his mouth. Gwyn moaned appreciatively every time Augus’ dick touched the back of his throat, the contact feeling stifling and electric to him at the same time.

Then, Augus surprised him by pressing forward and holding Gwyn still. It shot something hot and thick through Gwyn. The feeling of trying to press himself back up off of Augus and catch his breath and being stopped by the hand on the back of his head was too intoxicating to describe.

Gwyn felt tears collect at the corners of his eyes and blood pool in his cheeks. When Augus pulled him back again to gasp and cough to look at him with a question in his eyes, Gwyn quickly said, “Again.”

Augus pressed back into Gwyn’s mouth and then pressed a little harder.

“Relax, darling,” Augus breathed, his free hand thumbing the tears away from Gwyn’s face. Gwyn clenched his hands around Augus’ thighs, but didn’t pinch. Augus rocked the head of his dick against the opening of Gwyn’s throat and each push went straight to Gwyn’s dick until finally Gwyn swallowed as Augus pushed and Augus slipped into his throat.

“Oh, gods,” Augus gasped above him. Gwyn felt he would have expressed something similar if he could. Instead, he moaned loudly around the feeling. He kept swallowing around the obstruction in his throat. After a few moments, he started to feel light headed and flushed from the lack of air. Augus was making tight sounds in the back of his throat and yanking at Gwyn’s curls.

Gwyn felt the moment when Augus’ whole body tensed around him. His thighs stiffened, his stomach muscles began to jump, and Augus wrapped both hands around the back of Gwyn’s head and bent over him. It was hard to describe the feeling of Augus coming down his throat, but just the idea of it pushed Gwyn perilously close to coming without a hand touching him.

Gasping, Gwyn struggled for breath as Augus pulled away. It hadn’t been long that he had been without breath, but it had been dizzying all the same.

“Gwyn,” Augus said breathlessly as he fell to his knees in front of him. Augus’ expression indicated he might have been experiencing some dizziness as well as he clasped his hand firmly on Gwyn’s weeping hard dick.

With a gasp, Gwyn clutched Augus’ arms and came all over his hand. About two seconds later, he had the presence of mind to look ashamed.

“Oh, sweetness,” Augus breathed, nuzzling and biting at his neck while he held Gwyn’s softening dick covetously in his hand. “I’m glad we didn’t wait,” Augus added as an afterthought.

* * *

Almost half an hour later both of them were sitting on the kitchen floor against the walk-in fridge door. Gwyn had a measuring cup of tap water in one hand that Augus had thoughtfully fetched for him and was reluctantly submitting to some cuddling.

Gwyn didn’t really want to say so, but despite experiencing almost no direct stimulation himself he had come harder than he could remember in recent past. He couldn’t even recall enjoying their youthful rolls in the hay as much as that one particular blow job. Or, Gwyn supposed, blow job wasn’t really the word for it. Gwyn wasn’t sure what he would call what they just did. Augus would know.

If Gwyn had a mind to flatter himself (which he didn’t on the best of days), he would say that Augus seemed to have enjoyed himself as well. He hadn’t seemed to be able to wipe the smile off of his face since the two of them had settled down to rest.

Clearing his throat a few times, Gwyn croaked out, “I really should clean that table.”

Augus scoffed. “We were barely on it at all. Nobody will know.”

Gwyn frowned. “I’ll know.”

Augus gave him an unimpressed look.

Looking away, Gwyn started to turn the measuring cup in his hands as an excuse for something to do. He supposed most people made small talk or try to get to know one another after mind blowing sex. Gwyn felt he should at least make an effort at striking up conversation even if Augus didn’t seem to be in a talkative mood.

“You know, I was really surprised when you took the job,” Gwyn said quietly to his measuring cup.

He felt Augus shift next to him, but wasn’t brave enough to look up and see his expression.

“I was really surprised that you offered me the job,” Augus replied dryly after a moment. “You didn’t possibly foresee this happening, did you?” he added, sounding like he was preparing to get very angry very quickly.

“No!” Gwyn exclaimed, finally looking up at Augus in confusion. “Absolutely not. I hadn’t even realized it was you until you walked into the interview.”

“You forgot my name or something?” Augus asked incredulously, his shoulders coming up and his dark eyebrows coming down into a scowl.

“No! You’re twisting my words,” Gwyn argued indignantly. Then, he sighed and put a hand over his face. He hadn’t meant to start a fight. He was really terrible at talking to people. “I just didn’t think that the Augus Uisge on the resume was the same one I had dated,” Gwyn explained. He didn’t go on to add that in his mind’s eye he had always imagined that after him Augus had gone on to become something much better than him. Something impressive, a position of power or respect that Gwyn could never expect to match. He had enough tact to know that mentioning that wouldn’t go over well.

Augus sniffed. “Well. I suppose I owe you thanks all the same. I was running out of options, if I’m being honest,” Augus said quietly, settling back against the fridge door.

Gwyn looked at him curiously. He wanted very much to ask, but wasn’t sure if he would again be walking face first into a trap.

Tilting his head, Augus arched an eyebrow at him and Gwyn looked away. “I don’t want to pry...” he mumbled into his measuring cup.

Augus smirked a little. “I don’t think I told you when we were together ... before. But, I have a younger brother who’s something of a handful. I’m supporting him while he gets his shit together, which will most likely be never. So, loosing my job a few months ago really left me high and dry. Getting this job was very fortuitous for me. And, I even got a bedfellow out of the deal. It really seems like I’m coming out of this on top!”

Gwyn snorted into the cup. “Augus, did you just make a joke?” he asked incredulously.

The corners of Augus’ mouth twitched, but his face was otherwise impassive. “Darling, whatever gave you such an idea?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I apologize for the long wait here. I now have the whole story plotted out and hope to have it finished. I'm dedicated to finishing this fic before I work on anything else.
> 
> Also, I sort of apologize for the sex scene as I'm not super happy with it. Uh, not only have I not written a sex scene in quite a while, but it sort of feels like mine will directly compete with Pia's (which it can't, it's just going to cower in a corner or something like the most pathetic prize fighter that ever was). But, if you like it, let me know and I'll work in more smex. If you didn't like, also let me know or don't say anything if you're more comfortable with that and I can make that the only sex scene in the fic'. Easy peasy.
> 
> (Also, can you tell which scenes were my favorite in Game Theory? lol)


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> New tags -> frottage and alcohol.
> 
> Information was supposed to be dispersed in this chapter, but Gwyn is a dodgy bastard so they ended up having sex instead. Whoops.

Augus stared blankly across the sales counter and tried to remember the glamorous part of working in a coffee shop. That is, until he remembered that there wasn’t anything glamorous about working in a coffee shop, except maybe a having a stamped 90s brooding cool kid card.

It had been roughly three weeks since Augus started at the Seelie Bakery and Coffee Shop and he had the understanding of how the shop operated in a vice grip. All the teenagers who worked there seemed to be terrified of him, which suited Augus just fine. He knew when all the deliveries should come in, he knew when orders had to be placed for those deliveries to come in on time, he knew what their best selling items were, and he knew how to make all the seasonal drinks.

As Augus came up on being about as competent at his job as he could hope to be, the inevitable boredom slipped in. Coffee shops could be busy places at certain times of the day, but they were also prone to huge dead spots between those busy times. Augus was trapped sharply in just such a one.

Sighing heavily, Augus pulled another honey stick out of the jar beside him (wildflower this time), stuck one end in his mouth and popped open the end of the little plastic stick between his teeth. They sold honey sticks at 50 pence per stick, which was a bit of a rip off considering that the shop would buy huge boxes of the things for little to nothing. Augus didn’t feel guilty about snacking on them to pass the time partly because the shop made such a tidy profit off of them and partly because no one was going to sit down and count all those sticks during inventory. If it wasn’t exactly a victimless crime, it was at least one that he was very unlikely to be caught in.

Terho was standing sentry by the cappuccino machine like he usually did. Augus found him to be a nervous and twitchy boy, but did his best to be nice to him. He was the only full time barista they had, so Augus spent much of his working day with him.

“Want one?” Augus asked, snatching a clover flavored stick out of the jar and holding it out to the younger man. Augus thought that clover was cloyingly sweet, but it was the flavor that most often sold.

The mousy haired boy jumped and looked at Augus like he was wielding a poisonous snake at him. “N-n-no, thank you!” he squeaked out.

Augus did his best to master his expression, but something must have sneaked through. Terho seemed to fold in on himself before quickly turning back to the cappuccino machine to begin obsessively polishing the steam wand.

“They’re not expensive, you know,” Augus bit out. “You won’t get in trouble for eating a few. It’s not a big deal. I’ve been doing it all day,” Augus said to the wilting barista’s back.

Terho just continued to nervously clean the machine diligently.

Augus sighed, sucked the last remaining bit of wildflower honey from his stick before throwing the emptied plastic husk into the trash. He shoved the clover honey stick in his mouth and bit down on the end with a bit more violence than was warranted. Sighing, he turned back to staring forlornly at the door just in time to see Gwyn shoulder his way inside.

He was looking especially windswept, his white blond curls fluffed and standing up and his cheeks and the tip of his nose pink where they peaked out above his scarf.

“Nippy?” Augus asked as he came around the counter to take the bundle of papers and envelopes out of Gwyn’s hands so that he could successfully struggle out of his winter gear.

“It’s a bit miserable outside,” Gwyn sighed, unwinding his scarf from around his neck and face.

Augus turned around and started walking toward the small back office with Gwyn’s papers and envelopes in his arms. Gwyn had just made a run to the bank, so most of the papers were statements or other financial documents. Augus assumed the envelopes were different sized bills.

“I suppose outdoor activities are straight out for this weekend, then?” Augus said over his shoulder to Gwyn, who was following him to his office.

When he didn’t hear anything in response, Augus turned around to look back at Gwyn. The tall blond owner had a look of vague confusion on his face. Augus fought the instinct to frown in disappointment at Gwyn and then gave up. He was disappointed, so he felt that he might as well express it.

“Don’t you remember this weekend? You’re going to take off so that I can prove to you that this shop won’t collapse the moment you walk outside the doors during working hours,” Augus snarked.

It was a little endearing to watch the expression of realization break across Gwyn’s face, but only a little.

“Oh! Of course. This weekend. I agree,” Gwyn said, looking down for a moment, “I mean, I remember!” Gwyn quickly corrected himself.

Augus could hear the squeaking of Terho’s cloth against the spotless steel of the cappuccino machine. He thought he possibly should get Terho a stress ball or just clear out some kind of place in the back he could shoo him away to when the front became too stressful for him.

“Have you thought about what you’re going to do this weekend?” Augus asked lightly, trying to release some of the tension in the room. He started walking back toward Gwyn’s office and what little privacy it would afford them.

Letting the pile of documents fall haphazard onto Gwyn’s small desk, Augus took the liberty of sitting in the squeeky desk chair. Gwyn leaned against the doorframe.

“Not really,” Gwyn sighed.

“Well,” Augus said, trying to think of something to say that wasn’t derisive. He pulled thoughtfully on a piece of hair that had fallen out of his ponytail. “What do you like to do for fun?”

Gwyn seemed to ponder this for a long moment, his mouth pulling down in a small frown of either distaste or concentration.

“Exercise, I suppose,” he said after a long moment.

Augus was sure he must have pulled a pretty disgusted face from the smirk that Gwyn grew.

“I’m not judging you,” Augus responded.

Gwyn’s mouth twitched. “I think you are. Just a little.”

Ignoring Gwyn’s jab, Augus sucked the last of the honey out of his plastic stick and threw the remains into Gwyn’s small plastic waste basket.

Shrugging, Gwyn explained, “It’s calming. I can stop thinking and just focus on exerting myself. I like it.”

Giving Gwyn an appreciative up and down, Augus mumbled, “There’s the tertiary benefits, as well.”

Standing up, Augus pressed close to Gwyn in the doorway. He smiled up at his tall blond ‘secret’ boyfriend. “In that case, I hope you enjoy exercising this weekend,” Augus purred.

A telling flush filled in Gwyn’s cheeks, making them look wind kissed again. And, if Augus leaned into Gwyn and gave him a bit of an inappropriate touch, no one at the front of the store had the angle to see it.

* * *

“Wow, brother. I can’t believe you’re working in another coffee shop!”

Augus sighed heavily and did his best to ignore his annoying younger brother. It was Saturday and, despite the chilly weather, the counter was fairly busy with happy couples and chattering teenagers coming in to escape the cold.

“Though I know I should never believe anything that comes out of your mouth, I really believed you when you said you’d never work in another coffee shop,” Ash went on to say, leaning out of the way and giving a cheerful smile to a girl in thick glasses and braids that came up to the counter. With great effort, Augus put on a friendly smile and took the girl’s order for a hot chai latte.

“Gee, I wonder whose fault it is that I had to take any job I could get?” Augus snapped after the girl had walked away with multiple glances back at Ash.

“Ouch. You wound me, brother. That was a low blow,” Ash responded, clutching at his heart.

Sniffing, Augus started to wipe down the counter. There wasn’t a speck of dust to be found on it, but Augus wiped hard enough to stip away the paint. It was hard for him to stay mad at Ash, but being ribbed at for his choice of job by a guy who made his way by playing in skeevy bars for beer tokens really brought it out of him.

“Hey, I’m sorry, okay? Don’t be mad at me?” Ash whined, crouching and laying his chin on the counter to pout up at Augus for maximum effect.

Augus sighed heavily and threw the rag he was using down. “Ash, I’m working. Don’t you have something more useful to do?” Augus asked in exasperation.

Frowning, Ash stood up and shrugged. “Not really,” he replied. “I have a gig tonight, but it doesn’t start until late.”

“Oh, really?” Augus asked, disbelief filtering through in his tone. “A real paying gig?”

“Hey! Yeah, it’s a real paying gig!” Ash responded, looking a little insulted. “It’s a party at this guy’s house. He’s doing this Nirvana tribute party for a friend for his birthday. I have this whole set list lined up and I’ve been paid up front and everything.”

Augus relented a little bit, surprised despite himself. “That’s good, Ash. I think you’d have just the voice for that kind of thing,” Augus said.

A bright grin spread across Ash’s face. Augus had to look away, already berating himself for encouraging Ash in any way.

“Really, brother? You think I have a voice worthy of Kurt Cobain?” Ash said, leaning over the counter.

Augus suppressed a laugh and threw the washcloth at Ash’s face as he started to croon, ‘ _Forever in debt to your priceless advice ~_ ’

* * *

It was Saturday night and Augus had nothing to do. Ash had left early for his gig. He had been all smiles and sunshine for the rest of the day after Augus’ compliment. It had almost made Augus want to encourage him more often and pay him more compliments where they were due. But, he had squashed that impulse quickly. That was what had started this whole mess in the first place.

At that moment, Augus was sitting at his tiny kitchen table staring at his phone as if he was trying to will it to ring. He had initially planned to stay home like he did most weekends. But, he had wanted to reward himself for a week well won by going out to eat. However, going out to eat alone had seemed to lonely and he had disposed of that idea. Then, he had thought to make something to eat at home. Yet, when he got there nothing in the fridge looked appealing. Finally, he thought he might just order in and try to find something to watch or read. But, when he started to browse through the television and his sparse collection of menus from local restaurants, he again couldn’t find anything he wanted.

He was restless. Somewhere among feeling restless, the thought had occurred to him that Gwyn might call him and ask to hang out. After all, Gwyn himself had admitted that he didn’t have anything to do over the weekend. And, it was Saturday night. Once that insidious thought had found its way to the surface of his mind, Augus couldn’t let it go.

So, there he was sitting with a steaming mug of tea to his left and his phone squarely in front of him.

Augus knew he wasn’t the kind of man who would wait with baited breath for someone to call him. Or, at least, he believed he was not that type of person. He wasn’t a fainting lily that would while away the time trying to wish someone into chasing him. So, he was definitely going to pick up his phone and call Gwyn himself. After all, Gwyn was probably doing a whole lot of nothing at the moment. Besides, the two of them were going out. Not to mention that, due to Gwyn’s ridiculous work hours, the two had not been able to get together outside of work since the whole debacle had started.

There was definitely no reason that Augus shouldn’t call Gwyn. Because there was absolutely no reason not to do it, Augus was definitely going to call Gwyn. Maybe after a little more tea. Okay, that was much better. Properly fortified with some perfectly steeped tea, Augus was now ready to call Gwyn. Right now. Here it came. Seriously, Augus was pulling up the contact list . Okay, that was an accident, he didn’t mean to close it. There we go. It was back up.

It took Augus roughly fifteen minutes and half a cup of black tea before he finally called Gwyn.

Gwyn picked up on the fifth ring, just as Augus was considering hanging up and ordering a pizza. His voice when he answered sounded blurry.

“‘lo?” Gwyn mumbled from the other end of the line.

“Gwyn?” Augus asked doubtfully.

“Augus?” Gwyn responded, sounding more awake. Augus could hear rustling in the background.

“Were you in bed?” Augus asked, experiencing a mix of confusion and shame for waking Gwyn up after telling him to take a weekend.

“Mm, yes,” Gwyn responded. He still sounded blurry, although the rustling had stopped and the acoustics on the other end of the phone changed. Augus assumed he had moved into another room.

Augus glanced at the clock on the wall. “It’s 9:30,” he said, confusion starting to win out.

“Well,” Gwyn started, then sighed. Augus could hear the sounds of things being moved around. “I found that doing nothing seemed to tire me out more than working all day. Is that strange?” Gwyn asked.

Augus paused for a moment. He wondered if Gwyn was still a little sleep addled. “It’s ... a little strange. I’m sorry for waking you up. You deserve to rest.”

“No, no. It’s fine. Did you want to ask me something?” Gwyn asked.

Pausing again, Augus took another drink from his mug. “Well, I was about to go get some food,” Augus lied, “and I wanted to know if you had eaten yet. But, obviously I didn’t mean to wake you up or anything,” Augus sighed, resting his forehead against the kitchen table.

“Actually, food sounds great. I haven’t eaten anything all day,” Gwyn said. He sounded much more awake at the thought of food.

“Gwyn, it’s 9:30,” Augus sighed.

“You said that,” Gwyn replied. If Augus wasn’t so busy being disappointed in Gwyn, he might have responded to that.

* * *

It was ten o’clock at night by the time Augus found himself standing on the doorstep of Gwyn’s apartment with a bag of chinese food in one hand and his phone in the other. The trip to get food and the bracing cold air off the bay were enough to knock most of his nervousness right out of him. Not to mention the rumbling of his stomach in response to the greasy asian food currently steaming away in its plastic bag.

Augus pocketed his phone and rang Gwyn’s doorbell. He was surprised to find that Gwyn lived in an old remodeled hotel building. The elevator had coughed and rattled all the way to the second floor and Augus had jumped a little to get out when he noticed that the elevator neither got all the way up to the second floor nor all the way flush to the floor. The hallways were quiet and a little unnerving. Augus felt like he had just stepped into The Shining.

Gwyn answered after only a few seconds. He still looked a little rumpled, his curly hair lopsided and a little flattened on one side. But, the thin white shirt and striped pajama pants he was dressed in more than made up for it.

“Hello,” Augus said before holding up the bag of hot take out. “I come bearing gifts.”

Sporting a small twitch of lips that Augus was starting to equate to a smile, Gwyn stood away to let Augus inside.

“Thanks a lot for stopping and getting food. I’ll pay you back,” Gwyn said while taking the bag of food and walking away into his apartment. Augus followed behind him while taking his time to look around Gwyn’s apartment.

“Don’t worry about it,” Augus responded by reflex.

Gwyn’s apartment was much nicer than the horror movie-esque lobby had implied. The floors were a pale and polished hardwood, the walls were almost all white, with a few beige and brown accent walls here and there. There was a big window to Augus’ left that looked out onto a spacious balcony. It was very obviously a hotel room at one time, but it looked like some recent remodeling had been done and everything looked wonderful.

Gwyn’s apartment also looked virtually unlived in. First of all, the furniture was sparse. There was a rug, a leather couch and a few chairs. There was a dining room table with some mail on it. When Augus reached the kitchen, he found it small, clean and organized. Secondly, from looking around the apartment Augus could find no indication of what kind of person lived in it. There were no photos anywhere. There were one or two paintings, mostly of landscapes or nature, hanging up in the living room and dining room. There was a plain clock on the wall. But, there were no trinkets, no personal items, nothing.

At the kitchen counter, Gwyn was separating the food onto two plates.

“Is water okay? The only other stuff I have in the fridge is beer and I’m not sure if it’s good anymore,” Gwyn said as he threw some of the empty take out containers into a trash basket by his knee.

“Yeah, that’s fine,” Augus answered, shrugging out of his coat and hanging it on the back of a chair.

Gwyn jumped a little when he felt strong arms wrap around his middle. Augus rested his chin on Gwyn’s shoulder.

“Aren’t you annoyed?” Augus asked breathily. “You can’t escape from work even when you’re chased out.”

Augus wasn’t at an angle to see Gwyn’s expression, but he felt him stiffen in his arms.

“You’re not work,” Gwyn said quietly, before turning around in Augus arms. “Besides, my weekend was turning out to be pretty boring. I was glad when you called.”

Augus smiled and it felt genuine. He was glad he was there with Gwyn. He hated the idea of Gwyn sitting alone in his empty little apartment.

The two spent a long time eating and talking. They talked mostly about the shop, about their customers, the teenagers who worked there, and Albion’s fickle mood when it came to what sweets he was going to put out. When the chinese food started to dwindle, they took out the beer which had indeed gone skunk while sitting in Gwyn’s fridge for weeks going on months. A little while after that they moved to the couch so they wouldn’t have to navigate their unsteady hands around empty plates and cups.

Things progressed as they usually did between the two of them from there.

Augus ground down hard on Gwyn’s erection, which was already straining against his thin pajama pants. The two of them were sitting on the floor at the foot of the couch. Gwyn’s back was braced against the couch and Augus was straddling his hips.

“Somehow, I’m not at all surprised you don’t own a television,” Augus laughed against Gwyn’s mouth. He felt Gwyn squeeze his hips in response.

“Augus,” Gwyn breathed. It sounded like a plea. It stroked something dark in Augus’ belly.

Fisting his hand in the hair at the back of Gwyn’s head, Augus yanked down and back until Gwyn’s head touched the couch cushion. His neck made a beautiful long white column of flesh and his adam’s apple fluttered wonderfully under his pale skin.

Augus leaned forward and bit down on Gwyn’s throat. He sucked the skin into his mouth and tasted sweat and something more earthy that was inherently Gwyn. Gwyn’s hips pitched forward and Augus was able to feel Gwyn’s dick pulse against his own groin as he came. When Gwyn came, he choked around a cry that made Augus bite down hard. Augus could feel Gwyn’s larynx vibrate against his tongue.

Afterward, Gwyn lay panting and loose against the couch. Augus smiled, pleased. Gwyn looked properly fucked. His neck was red and wet, his hair was mussed, his shirt was stretched out, and a wet spot was developing in his pajama pants. There was a charming flush running across his cheeks and nose and his lips were red and a little swollen.

“Sorry, you ...” Gwyn trailed off, one of his hands still resting on Augus’ hip moving slowly toward his button and zipper.

Augus gently took both of Gwyn’s wrists and pinned them down beside Gwyn’s head on the couch. He clicked his tongue down at Gwyn and watched his eyes darken.

“No, I like you much better like this,” Augus breathed against Gwyn’s mouth. He pressed his hips and stomach against Gwyn’s chest and let his hair fall around the two of them like a curtain.

They kissed for a long time, long enough for their beers to grow warm and the sky to start growing light outside. When Augus finally came against Gwyn’s stomach on his living room floor, both of them were full, sexually satiated and exhausted.

Augus wiped his sticky fingers on Gwyn’s thoroughly come stained shirt. He rolled onto his back and sighed.

“We must be hopeless homebodies,” Augus laughed. His joints felt loose and his bones felt old. He just wanted to lay on Gwyn’s rug until it was late enough in the day for him to call Ash and ask him to drive him home on his shoddy scooter. “I’ve thoroughly enjoyed tonight. Why did we ever break up in the first place?” Augus asked nobody in particular.

Gwyn was silent beside him, eerily still.

Turning onto his side, Augus looked at Gwyn and saw the way he was staring blankly at the ceiling. Whatever flush he had from their intimate frottage had quickly drained away.

“Did I ruin the mood?” Augus asked quietly.

“No,” Gwyn responded, but he continued staring at the ceiling.

“You know that I’m not angry at you about it anymore, right? We were young. People change,” Augus said carefully.

“That’s very good of you,” Gwyn said. He slowly turned onto his side to face Augus.

Augus pursed his lips. Gwyn’s shoulders had folded in and he couldn’t seem to look at Augus any higher on his face than his chin.

“While your floor is just lovely, it’s not very comfortable. Do you mind if we move to the bed?” Augus asked, trying to change the subject.

Gwyn looked into his eyes and regained a little bit of his color. His lips twitched.

“Yes, let’s.”


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> New tags -> Anal sex.
> 
> I didn't actually intend for this chapter to happen, but I wanted to have some transition between this and the next chapter. So, it's a little short smutty thing that I'm not super sure establishes anything.

Gwyn was feeling dizzy. Admittedly, being with Augus always left him with the feeling of being somewhat turned about. That particular morning, following a night of drinking and lazy sex all over his living room floor, Gwyn was feeling a little more unseated than usual.

Augus, of course, looked completely in his element. The pale morning light streaking through Gwyn’s thin white curtains cast illumination into his otherwise darkened bedroom. Dust motes lazily floated in and out of the shafts of light. Augus’ olive skin took on a warm honey color in the warmth of the sun’s first light. His dark hair was messy, tangled and sticking to his skin in some places. It was so dark that Gwyn though he might have seen the shine of greens and blues when the light hit it just right.

The sound of their panting breath filled up the bedroom. It was early and most of the city was still asleep, which left the whole apartment building, inside and out, still and quiet.

Augus was so so tight and hot where he was impaled on Gwyn’s dick. It had taken a long time and a lot of careful touching and licking before they could get to this point. Augus had confided to Gwyn with a warning look that it had been a very long time since he had taken a man inside of himself and that it wasn’t often he put anything inside himself when playing alone.

It made the act itself seem special to Gwyn, that Augus would want it and that he would even initiate it. But, perhaps, Gwyn was just fooling himself. They both had admitted to one another that it had been some time since either of them had been intimate with someone else in a meaningful way. Augus’ motivation could be lust as much as any other softer emotion.

In reverence, Gwyn ran his palms over Augus’ thighs. They were powerful looking like this, framing Gwyn’s hips and lifting Augus up and down on his cock. He thought that, despite being relatively small and lean compared to Gwyn, Augus must have an amazing amount of stamina. It felt to Gwyn that Augus had kept up the painfully slow slide and squeeze on his dick for ages.

“Augus,” Gwyn breathed, giving Augus’ thighs a squeeze. He was surprised at how wrecked his voice sounded.

Augus clenched around Gwyn, but otherwise remained silent outside of the heavy breathing he had been keeping up throughout fucking himself on Gwyn’s dick.

Swallowing in an attempt to try and bring some moisture back to his mouth, Gwyn tried again.

“Augus,” Gwyn croaked. “Please, I need ...”

Without any conscious thought, Gwyn started to sit up, his hands running up to bracket Augus’ waist. Eyes flashing, Augus shoved Gwyn back down into his bed with both hands on his shoulders.

“Stay still,” Augus hissed. “Just a little more,” he added, the anger in his voice anger slipping away to be replaced by a sex hazed desire.

Tossing his head, Gwyn tried to stay still as Augus kept up his languid pace, rising and falling steadily, the slap of their skin as carefully measured as a metronome.

Growling, Gwyn shifted. He spread his legs and bent his knees. Augus didn’t seem to notice, though he kept his hands tightly clasped on Gwyn’s shoulders. Gwyn grabbed Augus’ hips (so small and sharp) in his hands and the next time Augus rose up Gwyn snapped his hips up to meet him.

Augus’ back snapped to attention and he gasped sharply before reaching down and yanking on Gwyn’s hair.

“Gwyn,” he breathed, a warning in the way he said his name.

But, Gwyn’s head was spinning and all he could think about was the delicious feeling of sharp friction he had just grabbed. He could feel the way Augus had tensed above him. More than anything, he wanted to feel more of that.

Ignoring the pain in his scalp, Gwyn held Augus’ hips still above him and fucked up into him with all the strength that his legs and torso could muster. Which turned out to be quite a lot judging by the way that Augus yelped and pulled viciously on Gwyn’s hair.

It was taxing, that was to be sure. Once Gwyn got going, only his head, shoulders and the soles of his feet were touching the bed. Once he was sure that Augus wasn’t going to ask him to stop, Gwyn used his grip on Augus’ hips to push him into matching Gwyn’s brutal pace.

After only a few moments of fucking hard Gwyn felt Augus gasp and go quiet above him. With a full body shiver, Augus started to keen high in the back of his throat. Gwyn felt his own orgasm building while watching Augus. Augus had spent so long languidly being fingered and licked and fucked, Gwyn imagined that finally coming had to be amazing. Augus shook physically in Gwyn’s hands and curled forward so that his face was buried in the junction of Gwyn’s neck and shoulder. He gasped and made high pitched noises into Gwyn’s skin while his dick jumped and twitched where it rested on Gwyn’s belly and spilled his second orgasm of the night into Gwyn’s belly button.

Gwyn fucked Augus through it. A short while after Augus had gone soft and boneless on top of him, Gwyn finally came with a muffled scream.

* * *

They didn’t roll out of bed until it was past noon and only then because Augus’ cellphone had started ringing from somewhere in the vicinity of the dining room. With much grumbling, stumbling and cursing Augus had made it out into the dining room, but only well after the caller had given up and left a voicemail.

Gwyn followed a little while after, tripping while trying to pull his pajama pants back on. He picked Augus’ jeans off of the floor on the way through the living room. Augus was sitting nude at his dining room table when Gwyn got to him with his cell phone pressed to his ear. Gwyn felt something inside of him shift at the sight. Augus was gorgeous, of course. But, his confidence and comfort in his own body was something that Gwyn admired. It also lit a fire of attraction in his belly.

“Ash?” Augus asked as the phone connected.

Gwyn hung Augus’ pants on the back of a nearby chair and wandered back into the kitchen to start some coffee. Coffee never went bad and it was his stock and trade, so he knew he at least had that in the kitchen.

“I stayed over at my boss’ house,” Augus responded to whatever was said on the other end of the line. Gwyn wondered who he was speaking too.

“That’s really none of your business. Besides, I expected you to be out all night at your gig,” Augus said into his phone. Gwyn studiously poured two cups worth of water into the percolator. At the shop they used purified water for all their coffee, but Gwyn didn’t have any bottled water or any purifiers he could put his water through. He hoped Augus didn’t mind him using tap water. He wouldn’t mention it, just in case.

Augus scoffed from the dining room and Gwyn couldn’t help but to glance over at him. He was angrily pulling on his hair and glaring into the middle distance. “And here I thought we were both adults who could spend our nights as we wished,” Augus snapped at the person on the phone.

Quickly, Gwyn went back to fiddling with his percolator. He put some colombian coffee grounds into the filter at the top and sat the percolator on a small burner on the stove. He turned the burner up on high and listened to the oven creak and groan as the electricity ran through the burner and turned it bright orange.

“You stay out all night all the time,” Augus hissed into his phone. Gwyn tried to will the coffee to percolate faster. “I consider anything past the break of dawn to be all night and I don’t think that’s an uncharitable consideration,” Augus spat, his voice getting louder as whatever argument he was having escalated.

The percolator started to click and bubble as the water in the bottom of the percolator boiled up into the filter. The smell of coffee wafted through the kitchen and Gwyn busied himself with pulling out two coffee cups and spoons.

There was a long bout of silence during which Augus turned away from Gwyn and the kitchen with one arm folded over his stomach and stared out the window onto the balcony. After a moment he said quietly, “I’m not angry. I mean, I’m sort of angry. I’m sorry I didn’t text you.” Another pause. Augus chuckled, “It was spontaneous, especially for me. I didn’t expect to be out all night and day.”

“You don’t have to come pick me up,” Augus said and when he turned back around in his chair to face the table, there was a faint smile on his lips. He listened, sighed, then rattled off Gwyn’s address. From memory, Gwyn realized with a jolt.

By the time Augus hung up the phone the coffee was done and had been poured into separate cups. The percolator had been rinsed out and left to air dry by the sink.

Gwyn sat Augus’ cup in front of him and then came back with cream and sugar. Augus smiled up at Gwyn and put sugar, but no cream, in his coffee.

“I didn’t know you had a percolator,” Augus said as he took a sip of the coffee.

Gwyn sat down across from him and fidgeted with his own coffee. He added milk and sugar to his coffee until it was a light brown color, sweet and creamy. He wanted to ask Augus about who he had just been speaking too, but thought it might be too forward. The conversation had seemed personal and intimate. Especially considering how quickly Augus forgave the person on the other end of the line.

“I bought it on a whim, but ended up liking it more than my coffee maker. It lets me better decide how strong I want my coffee,” Gwyn responded absent mindedly.

Augus hummed in agreement.

Clearing his throat, Gwyn tried to think of something to talk about, but the only thing that came to mind was the person on the phone. Eventually, Gwyn looked up nervously at Augus’ curious expression and stumbled out, “So, that was, ah ...?”

“Oh! That was my brother, Ash. I’m sorry, I should have said,” Augus explained.

Gwyn felt the tension that had been building inside of him unwind. But, somehow, the envy didn’t.

“The one you live with?” Gwyn asked. He immediately kicked himself, because what other brother would it have been? So far as Gwyn knew, Augus only had the one.

“Quite so,” Augus replied, tipping his mug up and emptying the last of his coffee. Gwyn raised his eyebrows and looked back down at his mostly full cup. Augus must have been thirsty. “Why? Who did you think it was?” Augus asked slyly, surprising Gwyn out of his thoughts.

Augus’ smile turned wolfish as Gwyn stared blankly back at him. Standing, Augus leaned around the table and brushed his lips against Gwyn’s. Sighing, Gwyn closed his eyes and tried his best to seal that moment in his mind. The smell of black coffee and sugar ghosting across his mouth, Augus’ hand on the back of his neck, naked in his dining room.

“You give me too much credit, love,” Augus chuckled against Gwyn’s mouth. Gwyn felt himself flush despite his best efforts to the contrary.

Standing up straight, Augus stretched languidly with his hands above his head. Sighing, he said, “I suppose I should go shower. Ash will be here shortly to pick me up. You can meet him, if you want,” Augus suggested with a tilt of his head.

Gwyn fidgeted in his seat. “Maybe not. I don’t imagine I exactly look my best,” Gwyn said doubtfully.

Augus tilted his head to the other side and seemed to consider Gwyn’s appearance carefully. Gwyn tried his best not to wilt under the assessment.

Smiling, Augus reach out to start to tug his fingers through his curls. “Well,” he said, “I think you look just perfect, but I can see how I might be biased on that point.”

Gwyn fidgeted again and pushed his head against Augus’ hand. The firm touches on his scalp as Augus worked through the snarls in his hair sent shivers down his spine. Gwyn assumed he looked properly sexed, which would appeal to Augus but most likely not to a close and protective brother.

Augus gave Gwyn’s head a few pats before giving his curls up as a lost cause and sauntering through the kitchen toward the bathroom.

“Do you want to join me?” Augus called from down the hall.

Gwyn stared into his coffee like it held the secrets of the universe. “That’s all right. Enjoy your shower,” he called back.

A moment later Gwyn heard the bathroom door close and the shower turn on. He sighed and slowly turned his coffee mug around by its handle. Last night had felt like a dream, but in the morning Augus was still there. He still felt dizzy, like something was just slightly offset.

He hoped the feeling would go away. He hoped it would stay.


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> No new tags. This is mostly a talking chapter. Apologies for the filler, but at least you get hints about what happened with Augus and Gwyn in the past.

Augus was enjoying his Sunday so far. Despite the cold weather the sky was clear and the sun was bright. So as long as he stayed out of the shadows, Augus could feel warmth spread across the crown of his head and his shoulders. Ash had picked Augus up shortly after he had come out of the shower and struggled into his clothes. Gwyn had stayed in his apartment when Augus left, but had stood on his balcony and waved as Augus jumped onto the back of Ash’s motorcycle and drove off.

Ash’s back was broad and warm where Augus hugged him against his chest, the bike vibrated powerfully beneath him and the cold air bit mercilessly through any hole it could find in his coat. Augus’ damp hair clung wetly to his neck and face, but was quickly dried into an unmanageable mess by the strength of the wind whipping by.

Augus entertained the thought that maybe Gwyn would be lonely in his apartment without him for the rest of the day. He had certainly looked lonely standing at his balcony and waving goodbye. It probably made him cruel, but he liked the idea of Gwyn crawling back into bed, smelling Augus on his sheets and missing him terribly. He would have to remember to ask if Gwyn had been able to smell him in his bed on Monday.

The two brothers drove toward the bay and into a more commercial area to their favorite greasy spoon, a little diner called Mama’s. It was Italian in its heart of hearts, but had pretensions of being a family restaurant. Best of all, it served pancakes and waffles all day.

Tucking his hair into a messy bun at the nape of his neck, Augus followed his brother into the restaurant and the two were seated at their customary table near the corner. Ash ordered a burger, french fries and a float, because apparently he was a 1950s teenager out of time. Augus ordered a stack of pancakes and more coffee.

After the two of them had eaten a substantial part of their meals, Ash began the 21 questions routine that Augus had been dreading since he left Gwyn’s apartment.

“So,” he began eloquently, slowly masticating his burger between words. “You guys got serious pretty fast.”

Feeling his temper flare, Augus shoved more soggy pancake into his mouth to try and quell the flames. His pancakes were swimming in a veritable lake of syrup. He imagined he would be dealing with the sugar high for the rest of the afternoon.

“I don’t know exactly how serious two grown homosexual men having a sexy sleepover really is,” Augus snarked back at his brother.

Unfortunately, Ash was unperturbed. “You know what I mean,” he replied.

Augus sighed and washed down the oversweet pancakes with a liberal gulp of coffee that wouldn’t move past the point of tasting like moderately strong paint thinner regardless of how much cream or sugar he put in it.

“It’s not as if we’re total strangers. We have gone out before, so we have the luxury of skipping all that ‘getting to know you’ shite. Besides, we’ve been dating for weeks. This is slow for me,” Augus muttered at the bottom of his coffee cup.

Arching an eyebrow that gave him an entirely too familiar expression, Ash snarked, “For a given value of dating.”

Augus’ head snapped up and he had to physically stop himself from stomping his foot down on Ash’s under the table. Was his younger wanna-be rock star brother, whose main source of sex were drunken kids at parties and who wouldn’t know serious romance if it walked up and slapped him on the face, mocking his

relationship?

As he often did, Ash was able to read Augus’ train of thought through a secret language they shared of glares and eyebrow waggles.

“Not that I’m judging you guys or anything! I just meant that you guys haven’t even gone out on dates together or anything. I know you spend the workday together, but that’s different from, you know, going out on dates?” Ash tried desperately.

Augus tried desperately to imagine Gwyn and himself on a date, but it just wouldn’t come. Gwyn had admitted that his only real interests were running the shop and possibly exercising. Augus knew himself well enough to know that his only real interests were the occasional good book and worrying about Ash. It was hard to imagine the two of them finding something that wasn’t work or fucking to enjoy. He assumed the usual going out to eat and maybe taking a walk around the bay wouldn’t be absolutely disastrous, but he still preferred snuggling in at Gwyn’s lonely little apartment to forcing themselves to go out.

The more he thought about their lack of overlapping interests (or maybe just their overall lack of interests) the more depressed Augus became. He didn’t need his younger brother planting doubts in his head.

“Eat your burger,” Augus grumbled and went back to devouring his pancakes.

Ash gave him a worried look, but did just that.

A few minutes later, both brothers were sitting back in their seats with empty plates in front of them and their hands on their stomachs. Neither of them had very regular eating schedules, which meant that when they sat down and committed to eating they could end up eating much more than was realistically feasible for their withered little stomachs.

“Why did you guys break up anyway?” Ash asked absently while chomping through a pickle spear.

Rubbing a hand roughly over his face, Augus thought to himself that he would very much like to know that himself.

“I don’t rightly know myself,” Augus admitted. “Gwyn was in college and I was working at the bar at the time,” Augus explained, before being interrupted by Ash.

“That sleazy gay one?! Oh, gods! That was so illegal,” Ash laughed before being silenced by a pointed glare from Augus.

Ash was referring to a job that Augus held while working at a well known gay bar when he was under 18. Ash considered the bar sleazy, because they required that their staff work in an array of skimpy costumes or uniforms depending on what holiday or event was coming up. Ash knew that the job had been under the table and illegal for Augus to work since he was underage and wasn’t supposed to serve alcohol. However, Augus hadn’t disclosed to Ash that he had actually lied to his employer about his age and had begged to work under the table so that he wouldn’t lose anything to taxes at the end of the week. Ash had still been in school at the time and Augus needed every little bit of money he could get.

“As I was saying, Gwyn was in school and I was working. We would sometimes meet after work. Then, one day, he left me a note saying that he wanted to break up. I didn’t see him again after that,” Augus explained as nonchalantly as he could. He was greatly downplaying the whole series of events, but Ash didn’t trust Gwyn as it was and Augus didn’t want to exacerbate things by dragging old hurts out into the light of day.

An old panicky ache bloomed in Augus chest at the thought of that time in his life. There wasn’t much going on that he had much control over at the time. The state was breathing down his neck constantly, convinced that he could not provide the state required housing to keep Ash in his custody until he was 18. He had to work two jobs to make ends meet (one crappy one to prove to the government he had a job and the second night job to actually make money). He had given up all of his future prospects and dropped out of school to get his brother out of the system as soon as possible and had succeeded. But, it had seemed like he was on the brink of losing everything at a moment’s notice back then.

At that time, Gwyn was the only good thing he had going for him. He hated flirting with all the men who came to the bar, but knew the game well enough to know the way to get big tips was through throwing himself at them at the expense of his dignity. But, Gwyn was the boy he had picked out of every man he flirted with who flirted back. He was tall and strong and gorgeous. Not to mention that he looked absolutely lost among the throng of other men. He was kind, quiet and, most important of all, amenable to whatever kinky power game Augus had wanted to play. Which was all of them.

After having been made to submit to civil servants, middle managers, and oversexed, middle aged gay men, there was something extremely cathartic about being able to take a rich, powerful beautiful boy and put him on his knees. He didn’t even have to feel guilty about it afterward, because Gwyn seemed to get off on being controlled as much as Augus got off on controlling him.

Then, one day, Augus came to work early and the bartender he was coming to relieve gave him a note. He had said that Augus’ boyfriend had left it for him without saying anything else. The note had been brief and written in perfect script. It had said,

> _‘Augus,_
> 
> _I’m very sorry, but I won’t be able to see you anymore. Circumstances have put undue stress on my time and I won’t be meet you after school going forward._
> 
> _Forever yours,_   
> _Gwyn.’_

What had followed had been a mixture of hatred for Gwyn and hatred for himself. The note had been so vague that there was almost no way to determine what Gwyn was thinking. He wondered if Gwyn had not been as interested in his power games as he had made himself out to be. Or, maybe he just wasn’t interested in continuing a relationship with someone whose prospects were probably not going to get much better than bartending. Maybe Gwyn wasn’t nearly as kind and sweet as he was. Maybe he had met someone else? He hadn’t even mentioned that they were dating or were boyfriends in the note (which was, admittedly, something they had never talked about aloud). It was almost as if he was canceling a standing dinner date or something.

Augus had asked other college boys who had come into the bar after that if they knew Gwyn or what he was up too. Very few knew who Gwyn was and those who did unanimously informed Augus that Gwyn was no longer at the college. He had disappeared around the time that he had left the note.

“You never saw him again after that?” Ash asked hesitantly, stirring the frothy remains of his float.

“Nope,” Augus said, before draining the remains of his coffee. He pulled a face. There were grounds at the bottom. “Not until the interview,” he added as an afterthought.

Ash paused for a long moment, furrowing his brows down at his float before saying, “Have you asked him why?”

“I have,” Augus replied.

“And?” Ash asked.

Augus repressed another sigh. “He very obviously didn’t want to talk about it and I didn’t press the issue,” Augus explained, failing to mask the exasperation in his voice.

Ash was quiet again for another long moment. “That’s such crap,” he eventually muttered into his float.

Groaning, Augus laid his forehead down on the table. It was sticky and he quickly sat up again. He really wanted this conversation to be over. “Ash, it was a long time ago,” Augus argued.

“What does that even mean, ‘it was a long time ago’? Just because it happened a long time ago, everyone should just forget it?” Ash shot back, angry.

“Yes, in fact! That’s exactly what it means! Time goes by, seasons change, _people_ change, Ash. He and I were both young and stupid. I’ve long ago attributed the whole shenanigans to youthful ignorance,” Augus snapped.

The waitress approached, tossed down their bill, snapped her gum and quickly retreated.

The two brothers sat silently glaring at each other. They reached for the bill at the same time.

“I’ll get it,” Ash said in the same tone other people used to accuse someone of being mean to kittens.

“One paying gig doesn’t mean you’re rolling in the dough,” Augus said sharply. “I’ll pay for it.”

Ash relented reluctantly.

Once outside, Ash stopped by his cycle to smoke and Augus took a seat on the curb. He wanted to berate Ash for yet another unhealthy habit, but felt that the two of them had fought enough for one day.

When the cigarette was almost burnt down to the filter, Ash sighed and said, “I get it. It’s your love life and I don’t have a right to interfere or whatever.”

Rolling his eyes, Augus replied, “Thank you or whatever.”

Ash’s mouth twitched up into a reluctant smile. “But, I don’t approve of this guy. I mean, not yet. If he breaks your heart again, I get to punch him in the face, right?”

Augus snorted. “If he ‘breaks my heart’, as you so put it, _I’ll_ punch him in the face. But, thanks for the gallant protection of my maidenly innocence.”

Smirking, Ash flicked his cigarette butt into the grass and turned toward his cycle.

“Any time, brother.”

* * *

Gwyn read through the ledger in front of him one more time. No matter how many times he added it up, they were definitely losing money on the honey sticks. Which didn’t make any sense, because the rate of return on the honey sticks were ridiculous. Where could they all be going?

“You’re not listening to me, are you?” a feminine voice asked sharply over the phone that Gwyn had pressed to his ear.

Jerking a little, Gwyn switched his phone to the other ear and guiltily pushed the ledgers out of the way.

“I’m sorry,” he replied. “I’m a little distracted.”

“You’re working, aren’t you?” the female voice asked smugly. She already knew the answer to her question. “You’re being very naughty, working on your day off. What would your darling Augus say?” she teased.

Gwyn sighed. “He’d probably threaten to throw me off the balcony,” he admitted.

The voice on the other end of the line cackled. Gwyn smiled fondly.

After Augus had left, Gwyn had circled his apartment forlornly a few times before calling Gulvi. After Augus had left with a peck on the cheek and a feral grin, Gwyn was left alone in his apartment with a sink of dishes and an unmade bed. Everywhere he looked, he saw something that reminded him of Augus. There was his cup he had used, the throw pillow they had knocked to the floor in the living room, not to mention the raucous mess of blankets and pillows that was his bed. It was like Augus had left his mark on everything Gwyn owned. It left Gwyn with mixed feelings of being owned and loneliness.

Whenever Gwyn was feeling unsettled or a little lonely, Gulvi always helped to ground him. She was an old friend who had worked at the coffee shop with Gwyn when the both of them were teenagers. The two of them had kept in touch in college, despite going to different schools, and continued the trend into adulthood. She was smart, witty and a little bit caustic, but had a soft spot for Gwyn that she couldn’t account for.

“I suppose if he survived sex with you, then he’s a bit of a tough customer,” Gulvi commented.

Gwyn’s mouth twisted a little bit. He hadn’t told Gulvi much about Augus, other than that he was dating him again. She knew Gwyn had dated Augus in college and parts of why they broke up, but he had been tight lipped about the whole affair with her and everyone else at the time for a number of reasons. She also knew they worked together at the coffee shop.

There were also a number of other things that Gulvi knew, but Gwyn hadn’t told her those things, so he wasn’t sure how she knew them. For instance, she was aware of his reputation in college, which had been as something of a terrifying sex fiend. It made Gwyn embarrassed to ever hear about it, but by Gulvi’s account he had a reputation for always topping and for being a bit of an unforgivable fuck whose only way of having sex was to try and pound his partner through the mattress. Which, looking back, wasn’t all that inaccurate.

After a long pause, during which the both of them comfortably sat together on the phone, Gwyn spoke again.

“He asked me about why we broke up,” he said quietly.

Gulvi was quiet on the other end of the phone.

“What did you say?” she asked after a while.

“Nothing,” Gwyn sighed, ashamed of himself in retrospect.

“Did he get angry?” Gulvi asked.

“No,” Gwyn replied.

“Well, that’s good. Isn’t it?” Gulvi asked a little doubtfully.

“If I ever tell him, he’ll be furious,” Gwyn said quietly. When he thought too long about that time in his life, it sometimes got hard for him to breathe. Just recalling everything that happened stirred up an ancient panic in his stomach. Gwyn nervously wrapped his free arm around himself.

Gulvi’s voice on the other end of the phone was a lifeline and Gwyn clung to it desperately.

“I don’t believe that,” she responded confidently.

“You don’t know Augus,” Gwyn replied.

Gulvi was silent for a time before saying, “Even if you never tell him, it doesn’t matter. Nothing that happened then needs to have any effect on you now. You know that, don’t you, Gwyn?” she asked gently.

Gwyn squeezed his eyes shut and nodded his head, before he realized that Gulvi couldn’t see that and squeezed out a hoarse, “Yes.”

“La, what a sweet thing you are,” Gulvi chirped, her accent suddenly thick and warm through the connection.

Hiccuping on a laugh, Gwyn responded, “Thanks, Gulvi.”

“Any time, darling.”


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> New tags -> alcohol abuse and character death.

Terho stood in front of the coffee shop and wrung his hands nervously. Everything was dark inside, which was worrisome because it was already six o’clock. The lights were usually on and the tables put down by then.

The small mousy haired boy had already tried the door and it was locked tight. Gwyn always came to the shop first and unlocked the door, so the small barista was unsure what was different about today that he hadn’t done so.

Terho was too nervous to try the back door, because that would mean going through the kitchen while Albion was in it. The tall imposing baker always intimidated Terho, so he avoided him as much as possible. The feeling seemed to be mutual.

A sharp wind cut mercilessly through the streets of Cardiff off the ocean and promised a blustery day ahead. Terho was wearing a heavy flannel coat over a thick sweater. His grandmother had knit him a thick wool cap and scarf and the boy burrowed into them. He stuck his hands under his arms to try and keep them warm and shuffled his feet. But, he was stuck in a mire of indecisiveness he couldn’t break out of.

“Terho, why are you just standing there?” a sharp voice called from behind him.

Terho stumbled a little as he turned around. Augus was making a beeline straight for him. He cut a striking figure in his tight gray jeans, dark wool pea coat, deep green scarf and his dark wavy hair flickering around him in the wind. Terho thought he was awfully handsome, but he thought Gwyn and Albion and most everyone else around him were handsome when he compared them to himself.

Augus looked angry and maybe a little suspicious as he came charging toward Terho. His brows were drawn down tight over his eyes and his mouth was a thin grim slash across his face.

Terho took a nervous step backward.

“The d-door is locked,” he stuttered out. He blamed his stutter on his chattering teeth.

If possible, Augus’ scowl deepened. After a moment of glaring at Terho, he tried the door himself and found that it was, indeed, locked. Augus scrounged through his pockets until he found a key ring and fit one of the keys into the shop’s front door.

“Why didn’t you go through the back?” Augus asked as he jiggled the lock. Terho hoped it hadn’t frozen overnight. He had that problem at his house.

“Albion d-doesn’t like me in the k-kitchen,” Terho responded quietly.

Sighing, Augus finally jerked the door open and stood aside to let the small barista go in before him.

“You do have a habit of getting underfoot,” Augus commented and Terho ducked his head as he passed. He hung his coat, hat and scarf on the coat rack by the door and tried his best not to look as nervous as he felt. As much as Gwyn talked about ‘pulling back into an ownership position’, whatever that meant, he was usually at the shop whenever Terho was there. That always made him feel a little less nervous around Augus.

“Terho, did Gwyn say anything to you yesterday about not opening up today?” Augus asked.

Terho looked at Augus when he asked the question, but then he had to look away again. Augus’ green eyes were practically sparking with some emotion Terho couldn’t pinpoint. Terho nervously pulled the neck of his sweater up over his mouth and hoped it looked like he was just cold.

“N-no, he didn’t say anything to me,” Terho answered nervously.

Augus made a low ‘tsk’ sound under his breath before yanking off his scar and coat and throwing them in the direction of the coat rack. Terho caught them at the last second and hung them properly.

“I’m going into the office to try and call Gwyn. Take down the chairs and start the coffee. We’re already behind.”

Augus disappeared behind the counter before Terho could stutter out a surprised “Y-y-yes, sir!”

Terho was did his best to mask his surprise. He had expected Augus to question him further or to at least get angry at him.

Quietly, Terho went around the tables and pulled all the chairs down. He carefully pushed all of them up to their respective tables. Then, he went around the back of the counter and filled the coffee machines with water before pausing. He didn’t know which coffees were on special that day. There were always two brews that they served (a light and dark roast) and whichever manager opened was supposed to pick them.

Terho checked under the counter where they kept all their bags of coffee grounds, hoping that maybe there was a chart or some kind of marking that he had miraculously never noticed in his years of working there. But, no, no matter how hard he looked he didn’t see any indication of which he was supposed to use.

Twisting the ends of his sleeves in his hands, Terho approached the office and paused. Augus was sitting at the small desk with his cell phone pressed to one ear. He was hunched over with one elbow braced on the desk and his forehead in his hand.

“Gwyn, where are you? Pick up,” Terho heard him saying under his breath.

When nobody picked up, Augus dropped his phone to the desk with a clatter in favor of putting his face in both hands. Terho jumped at the loud sound and Augus seemed to take note of him.

“Is ...” Terho cleared his throat. Augus’ eyes were such a deep green, something he noticed often. But, Terho also noticed that the skin around his eyes were tight and he hadn’t yet smoothed down his hair and his shirt was a little wrinkled from his coat. It occurred to Terho that Augus was very seriously worried over Gwyn. Swallowing, Terho tried again. “Do you know where Gwyn lives?”

Augus seemed confused for a second before realization dawned on him and his face solidified into an expression of determination.

Standing, Augus pocketed his phone and jerked his fingers through his hair a few times before moving around Terho and the counter toward the door.

“Terho, you’re in charge. Mikkel will be here in an hour. I’m going to go check on Gwyn,” Augus pulled his coat on, but didn’t button it. “I’ll call you as soon as I learn anything,” he added before disappearing out the door.

A rush of cold air slipped through before the door closed and hit Terho in the face.

“Oh, b-but!” Terho said to the empty shop. Thoughts like, _‘But, I don’t like Mikkel!’_ and _‘But, I still don’t know what the specials are!’_ and _‘You forgot your scarf!_ ’ all jumbled around in his head. But, none of that really mattered since Augus was already gone.

* * *

Gwyn was awoken by a raucous noise somewhere. His head was fuzzy and he was having a lot of trouble waking up, despite all the racket. Once he started to wake up, the pain hit him like a sledgehammer to the face.

Suddenly it all rushed back to him: the phone call, the pain, the drinking, the vomiting, and then dragging himself to his bed to pass out. Oddly enough, despite the way his head was throbbing in time with every loud sound that echoed through his apartment, he felt scrubbed out. Like a raw wound that had been scrubbed with a wire brush, all the feelings he had been bursting with the previous night were gone.

The loud noises were starting to sound more and more like someone banging on his door and violently ringing his doorbell.

Struggling, Gwyn tried to disentangle himself from his sheets and get to the front door. He leaned heavily on the wall as he made his way out of the bedroom and found himself swaying dangerously through his living room. The sound was loudest at his door and Gwyn could make out people yelling from beyond it.

Gwyn, still oddly numb, unlocked the deadbolt and pulled open his door to see a windswept Augus swearing at a nice old lady with the kind of venom he could only muster up for his dresser when he stubbed his toe.

“Gwyn!” Augus yelled as Gwyn opened the door. His face looked relieved for one second, before he switched back to being angry. With a growl, Augus pushed Gwyn back into his apartment hard and slammed the door behind him. Gwyn just barely stopped himself from falling backward onto his butt, though his stomach did clench violently at the sudden movement. He could still hear the old woman yelling from behind his door.

“I think that was my next door neighbor,” Gwyn said slowly, wrapping one arm around his stomach and hoping that he could contain the bile that was threatening to climb up the back of his throat. “What did you call her? Is that a real word?” Gwyn asked.

Augus smacked him hard and glared at him. He looked as angry as Gwyn had ever seen him, simmering with righteous rage, but Gwyn still couldn’t summon any feelings about it. He grunted as the smack connected and made his head rock. He was losing the battle with the contents of his stomach.

“You asshole!” Augus spat. “Do you know how worried I was? Why didn’t you answer your phone?”

Gwyn very much wanted to sit down right there in his hall, but knew that if he did he wouldn’t get up again. And, he really didn’t want to be stuck sitting beside his own puke. He swayed a little bit where he was standing.

“I didn’t hear my phone ring,” Gwyn said slowly. He also didn’t know where his phone was.

Augus looked away from him as if in disgust and then seemed to notice the collection of empty or half empty bottles on Gwyn’s kitchen table. He looked back at Gwyn and the wrinkle of disgust on his nose indicated pretty heavily that he had already determined their contents.

“Did you drink all that last night?” Augus hissed.

“Yeah,” Gwyn croaked.

“Did you throw up?” Augus asked and there was a hitch of panic in his voice.

“Yes. A lot,” Gwyn responded and hung his head. Feeling was starting to creep back in. Shame was mixed in with the cold in his toes and pain in the joints of his fingers.

“What’s wrong with you? I’m actually hoping that something terrible happened and you’re not just a closet alcoholic suddenly suffering from a relapse,” Augus laughed a little and there was an edge of hysteria. Thoughts still muddled, Gwyn realized that Augus was really worried. He was scared and worried for him. For Gwyn.

Feeling wasn’t just creeping in by then, it was rushing back into Gwyn like a dam somewhere had broken. His stomach hurt the most, then his head, then his bladder. His hands and knees hurt and he couldn’t remember why. A thick heavy current of grief ran underneath everything tempered by something warm, unfamiliar and a little scary welling up in his chest.

Tears gathered on the fringes of his lashes. At first, Gwyn thought he was going to cry for the first time in a long time. But, then, his stomach twisted and his hand flew to his mouth as he started to heave.

“I’m going to throw up,” Gwyn moaned about two seconds before Augus grabbed him by the arm and just about physically threw him into the bathroom.

Gwyn’s knees hit the tile hard and pain rushed up his thighs, but it wasn’t enough to stop him from vomiting a burning trail of bile and stomach acid into the toilet. He heaved until there was nothing left and even after that his stomach muscles continued to spasm involuntarily in an effort to purge everything they could from his system.

When Gwyn was done, he sat back and leaned against the wall. The cool plaster felt good against his fevered skin. Looking out the door, Gwyn could see Augus’ foot from where he was sitting against the wall outside the bathroom with his knees drawn up.

Gwyn stared at the toilet and felt tears run down his cheeks. He blamed it on the vomiting.

“My mother is dead,” he croaked.

He saw Augus’ foot twitch outside the bathroom door.

“She hated me and spent most of my life alternating between avoiding me or going out of her way to torment me. No one ever knew. It was the family secret; we all hated each other...” Gwyn trailed off and closed his eyes against the burning feeling rolling through his gut, up his throat and to his head. When he closed his eyes, it was like she was still there, insulting him across international phone lines or petting his hair in front of neighbors or other mothers.

“But, you still loved her,” Augus said quietly from out in the hall.

“No,” Gwyn croaked, shaking his head. It made the room spin, but he felt that this was important enough that he didn’t care. “No, she was cruel and didn’t care about me,” Gwyn continued.

“Parents can do a lot of shitty stuff and kids will still find a way to love them,” Augus replied.

Gwyn hung his head. His vision was blurred with tears, he had drunk himself stupid the night before and he couldn’t account for the terrible pain that was filling him up inside. This was grief. Grief for a woman that had never even held up the pretense that she loved him, except for lookers on.

“How did she die?” Augus asked carefully.

Gwyn sniffed hard. His nose was running.

“A boating accident in the Mediterranean,” he replied shortly with derision. “My cousin is already planning the funeral. It all just seems so surreal,” Gwyn whispered.

Gwyn heard Augus stand up and walk away. For a second, he thought that he was fed up with him, this crying terrible mess that he was, but a moment later Gwyn heard his footsteps coming back.

“Drink this,” Augus said and it was an order. Gwyn felt himself relax minisculely to have something simple he could do.

Gwyn pulled his head up and wiped his eyes and nose on the back of his arm. He took the glass of water that Augus was holding out to him and sipped at it. It was the last thing he wanted, but he knew he was probably dehydrated and needed to drink something.

Augus went to the sink and wet a washcloth. After Gwyn had drank half the glass of water, he took the glass away from him and sat it on the counter before tipping Gwyn’s face up with a finger on his chin and roughly wiping his face with the cloth.

“I want you to go back to bed and try to sleep. I’ll be back to check on you in a little bit,” Augus said brusquely.

He threw the washcloth into the sink and grabbed Gwyn by both hands to haul him to his feet.

“I need to, ah,” Gwyn said awkwardly, feeling his full and painful bladder as he stood.

Augus pulled a face. “Then, go,” he snapped. “I need to make a phone call,” he said before storming out of the bathroom and down the hall. A few seconds later, Gwyn heard Augus’ muffled voice as he spoke to someone on the phone.

Without bothering to close the door, Gwyn pulled down his pants so that he could piss. It felt heavenly and Gwyn had to hold back a moan as the pressure in his bladder eased. Once the pressure was gone, he was unsure how he had missed it before.

Keeping one hand to the wall to be safe, Gwyn made his way back to his bedroom. On the way he passed the kitchen where Augus was leaning against the counter with his phone to his ear.

“He’s having a family emergency,” Augus snapped at whoever was on the other end of the line. “I’m going to stay and help, so you’re in charge.”

The person on the other end said something in a panicked tone before Augus cut them off, “You’re the most senior employee there, it would be irresponsible of me to put someone else in charge. You’re more than capable of handling it. Besides, it’s a Wednesday. Nothing ever happens on Wednesdays.”

Gwyn heard the other person start to say something, but Augus rudely ended the call. He pressed ignore when the person called back.

Augus looked up and caught Gwyn watching him from the doorway. He still looked angry, but less likely to physically beat the next person who spoke to him.

“Eavesdropping is bad habit to get into, Gwyn,” Augus sighed. “Get to bed.”

“I’m sorry,” Gwyn croaked. “For worrying you. I didn’t mean too. I wasn’t thinking,” Gwyn said quietly.

Augus’ expression seemed to soften somewhat from pissed to surlish.

“I’m still angry at you. But, it will pass. Obeying my every whim will help me on the way to forgiveness,” Augus snarked and jerked his head toward the bedroom.

Gwyn’s lips twitched, but didn’t quite make it to a smile. Once in his bedroom, he flopped onto his bed with a groan. He pulled a pillow toward him and blanket over him. After emptying his stomach and bladder and hydrating himself, he was surprised to find he was absolutely exhausted. Only a few minutes after falling into bed he passed out.


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> New tags -> wakes & funerals.

The funeral was held on a blustery Sunday afternoon. Augus accompanied Gwyn without having to be asked. That morning Augus pulled his hair back in a severe ponytail and wore a black button down shirt with a gray tie and gray slacks. Gwyn produced a perfectly cut black designer suit from the back of his closet that left Augus confused and feeling a little upstaged. It was obviously tailored, but apparently from before Gwyn’s shoulders were done growing. The material looked stretched as it fought to contain Gwyn’s massive back and arms.

The two of them took a taxi to the funeral home where Gwyn’s mother’s funeral was being held, because neither of them owned a car. When they arrived at the funeral home, beautiful well dressed people looking suitably sober were already milling around the entrance and lobby. Some of them stopped to stare and whisper when Gwyn walked by, but he didn’t seem to take any notice.

Augus took this as yet another example of how Gwyn had been running on autopilot ever since the week before. Augus had spent most of the week running between the coffee shop, his apartment and Gwyn’s apartment. Terho had agreed to take longer shifts and oversee the younger kids at the shop, which was immensely helpful. Gwyn had made several attempts to go to the shop only to be shuffled back into his apartment to develop a personality and interests or something by Augus. Gwyn’s focus was far too scattered to make him very useful and his pallor and expression were enough to scare most customers away. That left Augus running back and forth to make sure Ash was eating and then running back to Gwyn’s apartment to make sure he hadn’t devolved back into trying to drown his sorrows in alcohol.

When they arrived in the center room, they were seated by a somber usher who handed Gwyn a glossy pamphlet. Augus was both glad and a little disappointed to see that it was a closed casket service. He would never get to see the woman who was so cruel in life, but had somehow evoked such a turn out at her funeral. On the other hand Gwyn would not have to look that same woman in the face while she lay dead in a box. Augus had always considered that a somewhat barbaric tradition anyway.

Gwyn sat silently in the pew-like bench while the other guests started to file in behind them. The funeral wasn’t being held in a church because, as far as Augus could discern, Gwyn’s family didn’t subscribe to any particular religion. However, the funeral home seemed to style itself in the garb of organized religion. The seating was reminiscent of pews with long aisles and the windows were tall and filled with delicately styled stained glass. The front of the room even had a raised platform reminiscent of a pulpit with the coffin and endless array of flowers behind it.

Augus mostly tuned out through the service, not that he felt especially guilty. Gwyn stared dutifully toward the front, but his eyes looked glazed over. Augus doubted he would be able to remember a single word that was spoken and Gwyn usually had excellent memory.

Both of them were quiet and unfocused until a young man with corn yellow hair slicked into perfection took the stage. Augus noticed that Gwyn’s eyes seemed to focus on the man exclusively and his whole body tensed beside him. Augus glanced back toward the front to take in the other man more fully. Like Gwyn, he was wearing an impeccably tailored suit, though his fit him perfectly and was a dark gray rather than black. Looking closer, Augus noticed that the man’s face looked similar to Gwyn’s in a vacuous way and he supposed they had similarly colored hair. But, where Gwyn was well muscled and his hair was curly and a pale enough blond to almost be white, the man at the front’s hair was perfectly coifed and his musculature looked healthy, but standard.

He introduced himself as Efnisien and the words he said about his dear aunt (‘Aha, his cousin!’ Augus realized) were as unhelpful and well plotted as all the other people who had come up to speak before him. She was a philanthropist, beautiful on the inside and out, she would be dearly missed, et cetera, et cetera. Augus felt that he had learned less about this woman by listening to her supposed friends and family talk than he could have by just looking her up on Google.

Augus felt that his whole speech sounded fake and affected, though he had felt that about every speech so far. Efnisien gestured, paused and even held back sobs a few times in all the right places to evoke sincerity. Regardless, Augus remained unmoved. He supposed he could just be heartless or biased against the whole crowd. After all, each one of them were obviously worth more than him and his brother combined many times over. None of them had contacted Gwyn, as far as he knew, while he grieved. So, as far as Augus was concerned, they were all vultures staring down at Gwyn’s mother’s dead body like a particularly tasty morsel to take home and share with the family.

The service concluded and a few older men and women approached Gwyn. They expressed their condolences, shook his hand and a few even slid questioning glances toward Augus, but nobody asked about him. The service broke up after 20 minutes of mingling.

Gwyn and Augus were left staring into space on the curb afterward. Augus had to pull on Gwyn’s sleeve to get his attention. He threw him a questioning look.

“Oh, ah,” Gwyn croaked, reaching for the pamphlet they had handed out at the beginning of the service. “We have to go meet my cousin and the family lawyer for the reading of the will at the reception.”

Augus pulled a face. Gwyn looked exhausted already and Augus was getting a little worried. More than anything, he just wanted to hustle Gwyn home and feed him. Maybe talk him into another nap. He thought funerals were supposed to provide closure, but Gwyn certainly didn’t seem to be getting any.

The high class pub where the reception was being held was down by the water overlooking the bay. It was close enough that they could walk, so they did. Neither of them spoke much, but Augus did slide his hand into Gwyn’s on the way down. He squeezed his hand and, when Gwyn looked at him, gave him a wry smile. Gwyn returned it with a twitch of his lips.

The pub was big and the architecture was modern, like most of the buildings near the bay. However, inside it was all leather arm chairs and distressed wood. It looked like it was trying very much to look like a cross between a fancy gentleman’s club and an old village pub. Gwyn pulled his hand from Augus’ as they stepped inside, his expression looking guilty. Augus didn’t blame him, however. These were Gwyn’s extended family and family friends. He didn’t imagine he wanted to explain to anyone about his new boyfriend at his mother’s funeral.

There was food being carried around by waiters on silver plates and, judging from the amount of drinks passing around, an open bar. Augus once again was struck by the thought that these people probably had enough money to buy Augus’ whole apartment building on a whim. Augus tried his best not to dislike them due to that fact alone, but it was hard.

When a waiter passed by, Augus reached out and snatched some little finger sandwiches off the plate with a wink. The waiter smiled nervously, before moving on.

“Here,” Augus said, handing Gwyn a tiny sandwich. Gwyn stared at the sandwich vacantly until Augus shook it a little. Gwyn reached out and took it. “I won’t have you falling over at your mother’s wake. Eat,” Augus said, eating his own sandwich with an over exaggeration of movement.

Gwyn scoffed and his lips twitched a little before he threw the whole sandwich in his mouth in one bite.

“If you’d deign to at least taste it too, that would be nice,” Augus snarked, glad to see Gwyn doing something resembling living.

Gwyn was quiet for a moment, scanning the crowd around him, before he turned back to Augus.

“I should go find that lawyer and Efnisien,” he said, though his expression and body language seemed to scream that these were the last things he wanted to do. “The sooner he reads us the will, the better,” Gwyn sighed.

Without saying anything more, Gwyn separated from Augus and started to drift through the crowd deeper into the pub leaving Augus alone in a room full of strangers.

Augus stood awkwardly by the door for a few moments as he watched Gwyn’s pale head disappear deeper into the shadows of the pub. After he disappeared completely around a corner, Augus fidgeted and finally decided to wait for him at the bar.

The bar continued the tradition of the rest of the pub. The bar stools were affixed to the ground, the metal looked like brass and they had green leather padding with no backs. The bar itself was a huge wood affair with soft corners and a metal bar along the bottom to put your feet on. Behind the bar was a huge matching wood shelving and cabinet set with a mirror behind the shelves. The shelves were lined with top shelf liquor of a staggering array and amount.

When the bartender came by Augus ordered an old fashioned to the apparent amusement of the old man sitting beside him at the bar. He was one of the men that had come up to give his condolences to Gwyn at the funeral home, but Augus couldn’t remember his name.

“You drink like an American,” the old man said after meeting Augus’ questioning look.

Augus tried to resist a smile and then gave up. He liked whiskey, due mostly to Ash’s bad influence. Besides, the old man was right. The majority of the drink was made up of American whiskey.

“What are you drinking?” Augus asked, nodding toward the old man’s glass with a smirk.

The man turned to him and proudly brandished his glass. “A martini,” he declared in a thick Scottish accent. “The only drink a real man should drink.”

Augus laughed heartily, glad to release some tension after a long trying week. When his drink came, he took a deep gulp. It was top shelf whiskey, of course.

“Are you Gwyn’s boy?” the old man asked him.

Augus startled and did his best not to snort whiskey out his nose. That would be a pretty auspicious way to set himself apart from the rest of the crowd. When he got himself under control, he had to bite the inside of his cheek to stop himself from snapping that he was not anyone’s ‘boy’.

“Something like that,” Augus replied with a grimace of distaste.

The old man turned back to the bar and nodded sagely as if Augus’ reply had been just what he expected. “It’s not anything big to me, you know,” the man said, still nodding. “Men did it in the Navy when I was a boy and I’m sure they did it long before that. And, will continue to do so in the future!” The old man knocked back the last of his drink and pushed his glass toward the end of the counter. A bartender swooped in to grab and refill it within a few seconds.

Augus raised his eyebrows a little at the quick service. He wondered if the old man was important.

“But, that Llud,” the old man shook his head and plucked the olive from his drink, “he never could abide that sort of thing. He was an odd fellow.”

“Llud?” Augus asked, sipping at this drink. He didn’t want to get drunk and definitely couldn’t keep pace with the old man. He either had an iron liver or was determined to get plastered. Probably a little bit of both.

“Oh, yes. You don’t know the name?” he asked.

Augus shook his head.

“Gwyn’s father’s name was Llud. He was military before going into the private sector. He ran that house just like he ran his command in the Queen’s military and how he ran his business. Everything had to be in tip top shape,” the older man was nodding again. His martini was already almost gone. “He sent his boy off every chance he got and when he died, his wife went crazy. Not with grief, you understand, but with all the freedom.”

Augus furrowed his brow at the old man for a while. It almost seemed too easy, for him to just be handing over all this sensitive information about Gwyn’s family. But, then he supposed old people liked to gossip just as much as anyone else and Augus might be the only person at the reception who didn’t already know the whole sordid tale.

“He sent Gwyn off? Where? Why?” Augus asked, leaning toward the old man.

The man’s eyes twinkled as if he knew he had Augus hooked and had no intentions of letting him off easily.

“Well, a military academy for one,” the old man confided in a sotto voce whisper. Augus’ eyebrows crawled up his forehead. “Oh, yes!” he exclaimed. “He had the boy away there for years, supposedly with hopes that he would continue Llud’s military career where Llud could not. But, the boy was kicked out due to certain ... proclivities. If you understand my meaning,” the man said with a bit of an eyebrow waggle before sitting back.

“I never knew,” Augus said lamely. He tried to imagine a teenaged Gwyn in a military academy, in uniform, running obstacle courses or whatever else people did while in military academy. Then, he tried to imagine Gwyn sneaking off to have elicit homosexual sex with some other cadet. Neither image would come to him clearly.

“Well, it’s not common knowledge,” the man said while waving for another martini. He seemed smugly self satisfied to have and be able dispense such knowledge. “You didn’t see the boy around at functions after that, though his cousin, that Efnissy or whatever his name is, started to become more involved.”

“What did they tell people?” Augus asked. Suddenly, the fact that only older people greeted Gwyn started to make more sense. His mother’s younger family and friends wouldn’t have known Gwyn if they kept him out of the picture due to, what? Shame over his homosexuality?

“Different things,” the older man said with a sigh. “Usually that he was off at school, which I suppose was true enough. Or, that he was managing overseas branches of the business. Whatever it took until people stopped asking.”

“That’s terrible,” Augus whispered, staring with confusion into his drink. In his head, he could hear Gwyn saying from the bathroom floor, ‘It was the family secret; we all hated each other.’

The old man chuckled darkly from where he was sitting.

“You don’t have to tell me,” he said.

“Augus,” a rough voice said from behind him.

Augus just about jumped out of his skin at the sound of his name. He turned on his barstool and looked up at Gwyn’s haunted face. He was standing behind Augus looking shell shocked. His eyes were red rimmed, his hair a little damp near his face and his tie had been roughly undone.

“Gwyn, are you okay?” Augus asked in surprise. He reached out to Gwyn, but Gwyn quickly twitched away from him. Augus yanked his hand back to himself.

“Pete,” Gwyn said, addressing the old man beside Augus, “I apologize, but we’ll have to leave,” he said tightly.

The old man, (‘Pete,’ Augus reminded himself) looked sympathetic. He supposed even he could see that something was wrong.

“Of course,” he replied. “It was very good to see you, Gwyn,” he said, coming down off his barstool with some difficulty and offering a hand to the tall blond. “Hopefully the next time we meet it will be under more auspicious circumstances.”

Gwyn grasped Pete’s hand firmly, shook it, nodded, then turned and grabbed Augus by the arm before all but fleeing from the pub.

Augus allowed Gwyn to haul him from the pub, down the steps, onto the street and toward the bay. Once they were almost half a block away, however, Augus finally broke Gwyn’s hold on him.

“Gwyn, stop!” Augus snapped.

Gwyn kept his back to Augus, breathing heavily with his shoulders heaving against the tight fabric of his blazer.

“Don’t you have to sign papers and talk to the lawyer or something? We were barely there twenty minutes,” Augus said desperately. He, personally, had never inherited anything, but he doubted it could all be taken care of in twenty minutes in the back of a pub.

“I’ve signed everything,” Gwyn said, his voice breaking slightly on the last word.

Augus cautiously put a hand on Gwyn’s back. He could feel dampness and trembling through the fabric of Gwyn’s jacket. “Gwyn, please talk to me?” Augus asked as gently and quietly as he could.

Gwyn’s whole body shuddered for a moment and he threw his hands over his face before making a thready noise that was muffled by his hands. After a moment, Gwyn seemed to master himself. He stood up straight, pushed his shoulders back, and stared down at Augus with as much composure as he seemed able to muster.

“I’ve been disinherited,” he said dispassionately.

Augus stared for a moment. “What?” he asked incredulously.

Gwyn’s control seemed to crumble, before being propped up by a sudden rush of rage. He opened his mouth and Augus was sure they were going to get into a screaming match in a very public and well traversed tourist area. But, then Gwyn closed his mouth with a click of teeth and turned away from Augus to stare out at the ocean silently.

“Okay,” Augus said on the gust of an exhale. He tried to run his hands through his hair, but found that he couldn’t with it pulled back. He roughly yanked the rubber band out of his hair. “Okay, Gwyn. You can fight it,” Augus said.

Gwyn scoffed, but still wouldn’t look at Augus.

Tired of being ignored, Augus grabbed Gwyn by his elbow and pulled him around to look at him. Gwyn’s expression was defeated and tired. He didn’t look like he had a shred of fight left in him.

“My cousin Efnisien got everything. Including the shop. It was all decided before my father died. They both ...” here Gwyn’s voice broke and he couldn’t continue anymore.

Desperately, Augus pulled at Gwyn’s shoulders until he allowed himself to be wrapped up in an embrace. Gwyn’s shoulders were shaking and his hands clutched desperately at Augus, but he didn’t make a sound. There were no tears or sobs, all outward evidence to the contrary.

They stayed like that for a long time, while Gwyn desperately sought what little comfort Augus could provide. Augus pet Gwyn’s hair, kissed his temple and whispered about how it would be okay. Somehow, some way, it would all be all right. They had each other. They would be okay.

When the last of Gwyn’s trembling passed, he held on to Augus with weak limbs and they looked out over the ocean which was blushing orange and red with a sunset that had crept up on them too fast. Both of them wished on the sunset stinging their eyes that Augus was right.


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> New tags -> anal fingering & light dom/sub.

The days following the funeral were probably some of the more miserable days of Gwyn’s life. He had not yet gotten over the death of his mother fully. The thought that she was gone forever and whatever was unfinished between them would forever remain unfinished was a heavy weight in the pit of Gwyn’s stomach. This, heaped on top of the new dimension of resentment added to his father’s memory by the news of Gwyn’s disinheritance, left him alternating between feeling scoured out by pain and weighted down by misery.

Normally, Gwyn would have buried himself in a task or responsibility to try and ignore such tumultuous feelings. However, the shop that he normally threw himself into running was no longer his. Augus was still speaking to Terho, who continued to work at the shop. The dark haired man tried to pass on news about changes being made to the shop to Gwyn, but he blocked it out. He didn’t want to hear about all the changes Efnisien had ordered or anything about the new manager he had put in charge. Thinking about his little shop belonging to someone else made him feel sick.

Speaking of Augus, while Gwyn took notice of little in the days following the funeral, he had noticed that Augus rarely left his apartment anymore. He heard him talking on the phone a lot, either to Terho or mostly to Ash. But, unless he was buying groceries or picking up take out, he was always there with Gwyn. Gwyn supposed this was an attempt on his part to be supportive of him. Normally Gwyn would have felt undeserving of such devotion. But, under the circumstances, he found himself more confused and dazed by Augus’ closeness than anything.

It was a dreary afternoon that found the two of them sitting across the dining room table from one another in a pensive silence. Augus had a mug of fragrant tea that Gwyn couldn’t name. Gwyn had a book on personal finance open in front of him, but was having trouble absorbing the information. The book was mostly a pretense, kept open on the table so Gwyn could stare blankly at it and pretend to read while his mind wandered.

Augus sighed loudly, a habit he had developed recently to combat Gwyn’s long pregnant silences. “I suppose we’ll have to stop eating out,” Augus said.

Gwyn’s head popped up at this and he gave Augus a questioning look.

“Why do you say that?” he asked.

Augus gave him a long suffering stare.

“Neither of us have any income at the present moment. Eating and ordering out is costly when compared to making your own meals,” Augus explained patiently.

Gwyn stared at him a moment and was struck, first, by the thought that Augus was explaining things to him like he was an idiot. He had been absent in mind lately, but maybe it had been worse than he thought. Secondly, he realized that Augus was talking about both of them as if they were a unit. Which it suddenly occurred to him that they were.

Augus basically lived in his apartment, he fetched meals for the both of them, and he even did laundry and stocked the dishwasher. It was so terribly domestic that Gwyn was sort of gobsmacked that the pieces hadn’t clicked together before. They were living together.

“Don’t worry about money,” Gwyn said vaguely, still trying to wrap his head around the idea of being a unit, a couple, with Augus. He was in the kind of relationship where they could talk about ‘their plans’ and ‘their money’ as if their combined assets were one.

Augus’ patience seemed to draw thin and his nose crinkled a little in a barely restrained snarl.

“What do you mean ‘don’t worry about money’?” he snapped. “Gwyn, it took me months to get hired at your shop. It’s probably going to take me even longer to find another job. Until then, we’re living off of whatever you and I have saved up.”

Gwyn shook himself a little. This was an important conversation, one that he obviously must have missed brewing in the air for some time. He impatiently pushed the book in front of him away.

“No, Augus,” Gwyn started, reaching out and cautiously folding his hand around one of Augus’ fists on the table. “You don’t have to get a job or worry about making meals. I have plenty of money saved up, please don’t worry about it,” Gwyn said as earnestly as he could.

Augus gave Gwyn a disbelieving look that softened the longer Gwyn held his gaze. Looking confused, Augus glanced from Gwyn’s hand over his own back to Gwyn’s face. His fist relaxed in Gwyn’s hand.

Actually, Gwyn probably had entirely too much money saved up. The coffee shop didn’t cost very much to run. Albion and his pastries were the most expensive part of the shop, but luckily he and his specialty cakes and cupcakes were extremely popular. Gwyn ended up bringing home a sizeable amount every month and only spent a very small amount of it. He ate rarely and at the shop as much as he could. He did have to pay rent, but his utilities were low because he was never home. With what Gwyn had saved while running the shop, he and Augus could live comfortably in his apartment for a year or more if they really wanted too.

“Gwyn,” Augus replied dryly, “you could have all the money of the Queen of England and I would still worry about those things.”

Gwyn felt his mouth twitch into a doubtful smile.

“Would you really?” he asked.

“Yes!” Augus burst out, pulling his hand from under Gwyn’s so that he could roughly run both of them through his hair. “No! I don’t know,” he moaned, pulling on his hair. Gwyn frowned and resisted the urge to reach over and pull Augus’ hands away.

Augus bowed his head, his hair falling in a thick dark curtain over most of his face. He had his dark black hair wrapped in knots and snarls around his fingers.

“Gwyn, what are you going to do?” he asked quietly. “You can’t keep wandering around this apartment like a ghost and I can’t keep watching you do it,” Augus said to the tabletop.

Hesitantly, Gwyn pulled his hand back and fidgeted with it. After a few moments, he dragged his own hands through his hair in a mirror of Augus’ own gesture of frustration.

“I don’t know,” he replied, surprised to hear his voice hoarse with emotion. “I feel adrift. I’m not sure how to deal with ... this. Everything,” Gwyn sighed. He watched Augus in anticipation of his response.

Augus was quiet for a long moment, before sighing as well and rubbing a hand over his forehead. When he finally looked up at Gwyn, there was a strength of determination, a steel in his eyes, that woke something deep in the pit of Gwyn’s stomach.

“You’ve always lived your life with purpose?” Augus asked. It wasn’t pitched like a question, but Gwyn understood it as one.

“I’ve tried too, yes,” Gwyn replied. It was true. When he was younger, his greatest aspiration was to gain his parents’ love. When he found this goal to be unattainable, he had switched his goal to exceeding expectations in the academy. When he was expelled from the academy, he focused wholly on his schoolwork, then finally on making the coffee shop a success. Without the shop, he felt adrift similarly to whenever he found himself without some goal to focus himself wholly on.

Augus breathed heavily through his nose. “It would be presumptuous of me to tell you how to live your life,” he said in a low tone.

“No!” Gwyn quickly disagreed. “I greatly respect your opinion,” he added in a lower tone. He didn’t add that he liked when Augus told him what to do. When he plainly sent Gwyn here or told him to sit there or eat that. It lifted something heavy off of his shoulders momentarily that Gwyn sometimes forgot was there.

Augus’ mouth pulled down at one end for a time and he seemed to think deeply for a moment before replying, “Allow me to think on it.”

Gwyn nodded in agreement. He sat back in his chair and glanced at the personal finance book sitting now at his elbow. He couldn’t quite work up the effort to even pretend to read it anymore.

“You’ve been so absent lately,” Augus said quietly. Gwyn’s head jerked up to see Augus staring at him with the kind of look that could dissect any man and lay bare all the soft and damaged places in them.

“I apologize,” Gwyn said haltingly. “I did not mean to be, ah, absent,” he added on hesitantly.

Augus didn’t really react, just tilted his head a few degrees as if trying to see Gwyn from a better angle.

“You know,” Augus said slowly, “It would go a long way toward working through all your emotional kinks if you could talk to someone about what you’ve been through.”

Gwyn looked down and away. What Augus suggested was very reasonable, but Gwyn had never really confided in anyone. Gulvi, to an extent, but even from her he kept back huge pieces of himself. Augus had already seen more weakness from Gwyn than Gulvi had ever seen in all the years he knew her. It was irrational to deny Augus this small piece of himself, but he still balked at the thought.

When Gwyn didn’t reply, Augus sighed with a tinge of exasperation and went back to his tea.

* * *

That night Gwyn was awoken by the feeling of vicious fingers digging into his kidneys. Grunting and rolling over, Gwyn caught Augus’ wrist in his grasp before he could suffer another cruel prodding.

“Augus, what -” Gwyn started to ask. He was bleary with sleep. Gwyn had taken a sleeping pill before bed to combat the insomnia and nightmares he had been suffering from. That last time he had so much trouble sleeping, he had been a teenager.

The pill left his limbs feeling heavy and his head feeling like it was filled with cotton. Lights from the streets outside filtered through cracks in his curtains to slant across the rumpled bedding. Augus’ hair cut dark snarls across his pillow and his eyes were bright and shining in the dark.

“Roll over,” Augus said in a hushed voice. There was the rumble of dark promise in his voice that cut through Gwyn’s sleep heavy haze and went straight to his dick. Gwyn struggled to force his limbs to obey him and get flat on his back.

Once Gwyn was laid out, Augus crawled over to lay on top of him. Augus was warm and smelled sweet and familiar. He kept the comforter pulled up around his shoulders and leaned over to press his lips against Gwyn’s. He pressed his way past Gwyn’s lips and into his mouth. He tasted like the mint of his toothpaste and something earthier that belonged solely to Augus’ mouth.

“I was thinking,” Augus mumbled against Gwyn’s lips. Gwyn hummed against Augus’ mouth and hesitantly brought a hand up to Augus’ flank. “You used to like it when I took control,” Augus whispered. His breath was wet and warm against Gwyn’s face. He could feel the pull of Augus’ lips as his mouth tightened up into a smile in the gloom of the bedroom. “Do you still like it?” Augus asked as he gripped Gwyn’s wrists in his hands and slowly deliberately pulled them away from his sides to pin them beside Gwyn’s head.

Gwyn felt a pulse of blood shoot through his dick at the feeling of being pinned beneath Augus, beneath his body and his keen gaze. Augus’ weight was solid on top of him, his warmth distributed across Gwyn’s front, and his dark green eyes shining in the half light through the curtain.

After swallowing a few times, Gwyn croaked out a hesitant, “Yes.”

Augus’ teeth shown in the low light as he flashed them in a rare smile before grinding down on Gwyn’s growing erection with a snap of his hips. Gwyn groaned low in his throat and arched his back as he rolled his hips up to chase the friction Augus had momentarily afforded him.

Leaning forward, Augus’ weight pressed Gwyn’s wrists deeper into the mattress. Gwyn drew on ragged breaths at the feeling of being pinned, at Augus’ hair still damp from his shower draping across his face and dampening his shoulders, at the nip of teeth along his neck and jaw.

“The both of us need to release some stress, I think,” Augus murmured into the skin just below Gwyn’s ear as he nosed around the soft curls there.

“Yes,” Gwyn sighed, arching his head back and away to give Augus more access.

Augus’ hands pressed Gwyn’s wrists to the bed once more in a silent command to keep them there before they trailed along the soft skin on the inside of Gwyn’s arms and back across his chest. His clever fingers found Gwyn’s hardened nipples through the thin fabric of his t-shirt. Gwyn bit down on a gasp as Augus’ pinched and rolled them between his fingertips before continuing down his chest to the hem of his shirt.

His fingers pressed cool lines into the warm skin of Gwyn’s belly, tracing the divots between muscle and the outline of bone, before gathering Gwyn’s shirt up and yanking on it.

“This needs to come off,” Augus huffed against the side of Gwyn’s face, nipping dangerously at his jaw and lips.

Gwyn grunted, planted his feet, and lifted his torso as far off the bed as he could manage with Augus still sitting on top of him. As soon as he was up, Augus yanked the shirt up and over Gwyn’s head with his help before tossing the shirt off the bed in the general direction of the hall.

Augus’ hands seemed hungry as they roamed over Gwyn’s bared chest. They cupped his neck and held him still for biting kisses. They traced his collar bone, thumbed at this nipples, a firm press down his sternum, and gentle brushes against his sides. Augus’ mouth followed the path of his hands, mouthing at bruises he had left along the column of Gwyn’s throat and sucking and biting at his already sore nipples until he had to kneel above Gwyn rather than sit on him.

Impatiently, Augus tugged on the waistband of Gwyn’s boxers and growled, “Roll over.”

Gwyn hastened to do so, the heaviness from the sleeping pill already swiftly dispersing. As he did so, Augus gave his boxers a few good yanks until they were pulled over the swell of his ass and down his legs. He tossed them in the general vicinity of Gwyn’s shirt before crawling back up over Gwyn to paint his back and legs with his own warmth.

Pressing his hands firmly into Gwyn’s back, Augus ran his hands from the top of his ass, up his back to his shoulders. Gwyn bit back a groan at the feeling, the stress and tightness in his back slowly unwinding beneath Augus’ hands. Augus then ran his hands over Gwyn’s shoulders and trailed his hands all the way back down to Gwyn’s wrists. Augus bit hard down the back of Gwyn’s neck and pulled his wrists together and on top of each other in the small of his back.

Heat and pleasure twisted together in Gwyn’s gut at the feeling of Augus holding his wrists down and twisted behind him. His dick twitched and he struggled not to press his hips down against the mattress. Already he felt close to the cusp of coming and Augus hadn’t even so much as brushed against his dick yet.

“You know,” Augus laughed in Gwyn’s ear, his voice sounding thick, “I was worried you might not be into this anymore,” Augus said, giving Gwyn’s wrists a meaningful squeeze.

Gwyn failed to hold back a moan at that and did end up rolling his hips into the mattress in one stuttered thrust before he mastered himself again. Augus’ breathless laughter echoed in his ear.

“Me too,” Gwyn groaned out. Then paused as he realized what he said might be misconstrued as him doubting his own interest in Augus’ games. “I thought you might not ...” Gwyn tried to clarify, but trailed off, unable to articulate exactly what he would call the games they had played and were playing now. The bossy attitude, the orders, the restraints that were more of a pretense than anything. Gwyn had hoped that Augus still liked those sort of things. He was exceedingly pleased every time one little part of their previous games was worked back into their lovelife.

“Oh, sweetness,” Augus murmured, pressing kisses to his ear, the curve of his cheekbone, the top of his shoulder. “I would hardly be myself if I didn’t salivate at the thought of you on your belly for me.”

Gwyn pressed his face into the pillow and tried to suppress his groan and the surge of heat in his gut those words caused.

Augus pressed hushing sounds into his skin between kisses before moving around behind Gwyn. He could feel the bed shift as Augus leaned over him and back toward the bedside table. Peeking out of the pillow, Gwyn could see Augus’ silhouette rummaging in a drawer before returning with something in his hand.

Gwyn’s mouth felt dry as the reality of what was happening closed in on him. Augus resumed his spot crouching over the back of Gwyn’s thighs. He dropped the small tube of lubricant onto the bed beside him and took each of Gwyn’s asscheeks in hand, squeezing and parting them obscenely. Gwyn swallowed roughly around the dryness in his mouth. Some part of him was scared. It had been a long time since he had bottomed. Most likely not since he was last with Augus in college. But, despite all the time and how he normally felt about bottoming, he found himself getting excited.

His breath came fast and his fingers twitched where he held his hands still at the small of his back. He felt a thrill run through him as Augus held him open with one hand and dribbled lubricant between his cheeks with the other.

“Augus,” Gwyn said quietly into the gloom. The sound of Augus’ name barely sounded above his own panting breath.

“Yes, sweetness?” Augus replied quietly, his fingers slowing where they had been massaging the lubricant around Gwyn’s entrance.

Gwyn swallowed again and it was no easier than the first time. “It’s been a, ah, long time...” Gwyn looked over his shoulder despite the strain it caused in his neck. Augus was perched like a gargoyle at his back, his eyes almost luminous in the light from the street lamps. “A long time since I’ve done this,” Gwyn croaked.

Augus was quiet for a time, before his fingers started up a steady rhythm rubbing down over his perineum and then back up to dip hard against his anus and back down again. Gwyn shivered and tucked his head back down into his pillow.

“I’ll be careful,” Augus whispered. Gwyn felt his breath ghost over his left cheek and the wetness smeared over his entrance. “But, I’ll make sure you feel good, too, Gwyn. I’ll make sure you come for me,” he murmured, his voice deep, husky and full of promise.

Gwyn moaned brokenly into his pillow and Augus bit hard into the meat of his ass turning his moan into a yelp.

When Gwyn caught his breath, he replied, “It won’t be hard.”

Augus chuckled darkly from behind him and, in a enviably smooth movement, slid one long thin digit into him.

Gwyn stilled and clenched instinctively against the intrusion before he forced himself to relax. His body may have been out of practice when it came to this particular activity, but he did at least remember how it all was supposed to work.

Augus continued to hold Gwyn open while slowly pushing his finger in and out and occasionally holding it still and wiggling it around inside of him. Gwyn tried to take deep breaths and breathe through the strange sensation of something moving around inside of him. When Augus started to press around his entrance with a second finger, Gwyn remembered to bear down which helped with the discomfort.

With two fingers, Augus pressed more firmly against the walls of Gwyn’s rectum. Gwyn blushed and pressed his face further into his pillow, his own panting breaths painting the hollow above his collar bone. He knew what Augus was searching for and felt him brush against it a few moments later. Gwyn felt his body stiffen and a deep moan rumble up from the pit of his stomach as Augus’ finger pressed slowly over his prostate again forcing pleasure to pound through his body as all of his nerves lit up.

“There we are,” Augus whispered, triumph coloring his voice as he changed his pattern to focus on thrusting on and around Gwyn’s sweet spot. “Gwyn, you’re doing so well,” he cooed, dropping kisses and bites on whatever piece of flesh was close at hand.

Gwyn trembled and bit out a frazzled, “Gods,” when Augus leaned down and bit down on the soft exposed skin on the inside of his wrist. His attention zeroed in on the feel of his his hands resting in the small of his back, on the fingers Augus was pumping in and out of him, and the way that movement pressed his dick into the mattress with every thrust.

“Augus, I’m not ... “ ‘going to last,’ Gwyn wanted to say, but another particularly hard rub over his prostrate blew the words right out of his mind.

“All right,” Augus muttered, his breath sounded labored. “All right,” he said again, his voice louder and more clear. “Up we go, darling,” Augus said, tugging on the front of Gwyn’s hips until he hesitantly was able to bring his knees up under himself. He let his face and shoulders remain buried in his pillow and his arms behind his back.

Delicately, as if pulling apart something that was only barely holding itself together, Augus plucked Gwyn’s hands apart and carefully placed them palm down on his ass.

Blushing and growling, Gwyn turned to glare back at Augus while trying to yank his hands away. Augus displayed his unsettling strength again by grabbing Gwyn’s wrists and pulling hard back until Gwyn’s back bowed against the strain.

“Augus,” Gwyn bit out his name in warning.

“I want you to hold yourself open while I fuck you,” Augus said and there was still a bit of a breathless quality to his voice. “I want to be able to watch myself sink into you. I want you to invite me in. Don’t you want to?” Augus asked, a challenge lingering in there somewhere.

Gwyn shook his head. “It’s too embarrassing,” he rasped.

“So be embarrassed,” Augus laughed, placing Gwyn’s hands back on his own ass. Gwyn’s fingers twitched, but they remained where they were. “Bury that curly head of yours in your pillow and look away. I look forward to watching you blush all the way to your toes.”

“Augus!” Gwyn growled, his fingers flexing involuntarily and, much to his chagrin, spreading himself a little wider.

“It’s a compliment,” Augus laughed, before snaking two fingers back inside of Gwyn. His touch was insidious, Gwyn’s body already relaxing around the intrusion as he scissored his fingers roughly inside of him. “I’ve never seen somebody who can achieve a full body flush with the same elegance that you can,” Augus continued with a chuckle. Gwyn’s face felt hot and he hoped that meant that his blush wasn’t visible anywhere else yet.

Augus quickly added a third finger and Gwyn clenched his hands in his own ass at the burn. They were probably going a little too fast, but his dick was already dripping drops of precome onto his sheets and Augus was a source of heat along the backs of his thighs. He doubted he would be able to last long once Augus was inside of him.

After Gwyn started to relax against all of Augus’ fingers, Augus removed them with a few familiar parting stretches.

“Perfect. Stay just like that,” Augus murmured.

Gwyn felt Augus moving around behind him, but kept his face resolutely pressed into his pillow. The cool air of the apartment was brushing against his ass and dick, the wet quickly drying, the cold making Gwyn tremble and shiver a little. He missed Augus’ warmth at his back acutely.

Gwyn heard a wrapper tear open and sighed. He imagined Augus’ deft fingers rolling a condom over the length of him. Gwyn shivered again and wondered if he should bring up barebacking again sometime in regards to him bottoming. Augus had gotten terribly angry the first time he had brought it up in regards to sex, but that was when it was Gwyn topping. Maybe Augus would be okay with it if it was the other way around.

There was a steadying hand pressed beside Gwyn’s and then Gwyn felt the blunt head of Augus’ cock bump against his entrance. Gwyn’s dick jumped in anticipation and he struggled to control his frantic breathing.

“How do you want it,” Augus breathed and rubbed the tip of his dick back and forth over Gwyn’s hole, pushing in teasingly every few passes. “Do you want me to inch in little by little so that you can feel every bit of me. Or, do you want me to slam into you quick and fast?”

Gwyn gulped down air like he couldn’t breathe. Faintly, he shook his head.

Augus clicked his tongue. “If you don’t answer I won’t do either. I could just fuck you with my fingers all night until you come,” Augus threatened, something deep and dark promising he’d enjoy making Gwyn writhe in frustration all night as much as he’d enjoy fucking him.

Gwyn moaned as Augus pressed into him teasingly again and told himself he just had to pick something and make himself say it. If he didn’t think about it, he could force it out and then finally Augus would be fucking him.

“Fast,” Gwyn gasped as Augus pulled away from him.

Augus’ fingers dug hard into his hips and Gwyn heard him hiss, “Perfect.”

Then, with a vicious snap of his hips, Augus pushed into Gwyn in one hard relentless thrust. Gwyn’s breath caught and he felt like he was being split open. His gut clenched and he tightened around Augus. His face felt hot and tears gather on the fringes of his lashes. The balance of pain and pleasure was so intense that Gwyn forgot to breathe.

“... so tight,” Augus was saying. He was talking, continued talking, dirty phrases and praises snaking in and out of Gwyn’s consciousness as he tried to hold onto his orgasm without going crazy. He felt exposed, pulled open, and raw in a way he hadn’t for a very long time.

When Gwyn’s orgasm rushed over him, it was like trying to hold back a flood with a plastic tarp. It burbled up through every hole and gap until it felt like he was drowning. Liquid heat built up in his groin under the friction of Augus’ cock pumping in and out of him. When he finally spilled across his sheets, it was with a half suppressed groan building into a roar.

“Yes, sweetness. Come for me,” Augus gasped out above him.

To Gwyn, it felt like his orgasm continued on forever. Even after he was over the cusp of it and gasping brokenly into his pillow, his dick still throbbed between his legs and every thrust that pushed him deeper into the mattress sent him rocking back on Augus’ dick.

Augus still had longer to go on his end, but kindly gave Gwyn’s arms a break, removing them from his backside and placing them palm down on either side of Gwyn’s face. Augus’ pace was steady, strong, and Gwyn noticed that he pulled his hips up at the end of each thrust.

As Gwyn’s pleasure waned, he found that he didn’t come the whole way back down. Augus fucking into him so steadily remained a constant background of pleasure. Gwyn found that he was surprised at himself, that he could enjoy being fucked while not being hard and not really wanting to come again. Just the feeling of Augus moving inside him was a lazy kind of pleasure in itself.

Gwyn wasn’t sure how long it was until Augus’ thrusts started to become minimally out of sync and he finally came with a strangled gasp and a few hard thrusts of his hips. Augus rested over Gwyn’s back for a few precious minutes, their sweaty skin sticking to one another and Augus’ panting breath mixing with Gwyn’s fainter breathing.

Gwyn didn’t look when Augus pushed himself off of him or when he heard the wet sound of the condom hitting the wastebasket by the bed. He let his hips collapse to the bed with a groan once Augus started to settle beside him, but grimaced at the cold wetness he landed in.

Augus carefully tucked the comforter back around the two of them, tucking Gwyn’s curly head under his chin.

“Did you enjoy that?” Augus asked and there was sleepiness in his voice.

“Yes,” Gwyn replied and found that his voice sounded as if it had been scraped raw. He might have been louder than he thought he was. He hoped he hadn’t bothered the neighbors.

“Wonderful,” Augus sighed and ran his hand covetously over Gwyn’s head.

Gwyn tucked his head more firmly into the junction between Augus’ neck and shoulder. His skin smelled like sweat, sex, and the earthy wet moss smell that Gwyn was coming to associate exclusively with Augus. His arms were sore and he was sure his ass would be even worse in the morning. He still had no idea what he was going to do, but lying in bed with Augus he felt like his life was already about as good as he could possibly ask for it to be.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Baaaaaaaaah! I had so much trouble with this chapter. Like, so much. I wrote it all in little fits of starts and stops and read it over, like, a bunch of times. But, I'm tired of looking at it. Like, it needs to get out of my face before I pop it one in the mouth. So, I'm just gonna leave it here. To stew in its own juices or whatever. > :[
> 
> At least there's lots of porn in it! Bah.


	11. Chapter 11

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> No new tags. Apologies for the delay in posting this. Only one more chapter to go!

Augus thought deeply on the subject of what to do with Gwyn. It seemed obvious to him that he was the sort of man that needed purpose in his life. Without it, he had difficulty functioning from day to day.

In the days following his initial talk with Gwyn, Augus had carefully questioned him as to his interests and qualifications. He had a masters degree in business, which would normally mean he could have his pick of easy office jobs. However, he had no experience despite being out of college for years. He ran the risk of being highly overqualified for most managerial roles and being under experienced for any office jobs his masters might have recommended him for.

Augus was able to wrestle one shining factoid from a languorous Gwyn. Besides working and going to the gym, Gwyn greatly enjoyed the outdoors. While Augus was prodding at him, Gwyn had briefly described his family home situated in an ancient stone building along the edge of a small wood and how much he enjoyed exploring the surrounding grounds as a child. He also mentioned that this interest continued into high school where he used to take hikes around the school. Still, even if an interest in the outdoors that had been neglected in recent years gave Augus hope for the actual depth of Gwyn’s personality and passions, it wasn’t something he imagined Gwyn could build a goal out of.

It wasn’t until a dreary afternoon while Augus was walking through a nearby neighborhood hoping to spot a help wanted sign that he saw something which started him thinking of a possible solution for Gwyn.

On the face of things, it was a very straight forward solution. But, Augus knew that actually tackling it would be very complicated and time consuming. Then again, Augus believed that a challenge was probably just what Gwyn needed. He did not idle very well.

The plan was being turned over and over in Augus’ mind as he wandered through the gloom and the drizzle back to Gwyn’s apartment complex. Augus was still thinking once he reached the apartment and shrugged out of his jacket. He didn’t immediately see Gwyn in the living room or the dining room. Augus passed by the kitchen and didn’t see him there either. As he walked into the bedroom, Gwyn came into view.

He was dressed again in his tailored black suit. The lie hung loose over around his neck unknotted. He wasn’t wearing shoes or socks and his hair was a mess, like he had just crawled out of bed or off the couch. Those things barely diminished the figure he cut as the fabric strained across his shoulders as he shrugged and examined his reflection in the closet mirror.

Augus’ brow furrowed in confusion as he shook out his damp hair.

“What are you wearing that for?” he asked in consternation.

Gwyn startled a little at Augus’ question and looked over at him with big eyes.

“Augus. I didn’t hear you come in,” Gwyn replied before turning back to the mirror and frowning at his reflection. He experimentally pressed his hands against his hair and smoothed it back from his forehead before letting go. His curls popped back out indignantly.

Augus crossed his arms over his chest and cleared his throat when Gwyn failed to answer him.

“I have a job interview tomorrow,” Gwyn explained, his demeanor greatly distracted by whatever he saw in the mirror that he found distasteful.

“What?” Augus dropped his arms and stared at Gwyn. “Why is this the first I’m hearing of it?” he asked, trying not to be hurt.

“I just got the call a few minutes ago,” Gwyn replied, picking up his black tie and beginning to knot it at his throat. Normally, the sight of Gwyn tilting his head back and tying anything around his neck would have been terribly distracting, but Augus couldn’t bring himself to care at that exact moment.

“What’s the job?” Augus asked suspiciously. He hadn’t even known Gwyn was looking for a job, though he had been on his laptop more often than usual lately.

“It’s a manager position. Also a coffee shop,” Gwyn explained shortly. He tightened his tie up to his throat and looked at himself in the mirror for a moment before reaching up and yanking the tie loose in apparent disgust.

“What coffee shop?” Augus asked. There weren’t that many around that weren’t also something else. Even Gwyn’s shop had been both a bakery and a coffee shop.

“A Starbucks,” Gwyn answered, sighing and sitting down heavily on the edge of the bed, apparently giving up on checking out his appearance in the mirror.

Augus gaped at Gwyn for a moment. He had hoped when he saw Gwyn in that suit that it was a corporate job. Sure, it would be soul sucking and he was sure Gwyn would hate it, but maybe he would make a lot of money. But, a Starbucks? Augus felt almost betrayed.

“Starbucks,” he hissed, running his hands through his hair.

Gwyn arched a pale eyebrow at him. “I take it you’re not a fan,” he said dryly.

“Who is!” Augus snapped.

Gwyn’s brow furrowed. “A lot of people,” he replied.

“A lot of people obviously not overflowing with sense,” Augus spat. He paced the length of the bedroom once before taking a seat beside Gwyn on the bed.

They sat in silence for a few seconds before Gwyn spoke again. “Did Starbucks do something to you personally?”

Augus chewed on his tongue and considered saying nothing, but finally gave up. “They have a new debacle or scandal that unfolds almost twice a year. They’re probably not one of the most economically irresponsible companies around, but it’s the image they put forth which purports to be so wholesome that is so bothersome!” Augus snapped.

Gwyn raised his eyebrows and leaned toward him. Augus chewed his lip.

“I didn’t know that you were interested in that sort of thing,” Gwyn said eventually.

“The environment is important,” Augus said quickly.

When Gwyn just looked at him, Augus couldn’t help himself and began to rattle off facts. “In 2006, they blocked the Ethiopian government from trademarking their coffee in an effort to get more money back to the farmers who grow the coffee. Did you know that for a pound of coffee they usually pay around $26 and less than $1 makes it back to the farmer who grew the beans? In 2011, they installed new taps in all of their stores to conserve water after it got out that they had a policy to keep tap water running all day to refill their pots. Also, Starbucks refuses to refill personal cups and instead foists their landfill fodder paper cups on all their customers. Finally, their coffee is an over roasted mess and lost in a taste test against McDonald’s coffee,” Augus finished with a hiss.

Gwyn looked at Augus steadily for a long moment. “Wow,” he breathed finally.

“Please don’t work at Starbucks,” Augus asked him earnestly.

“I won’t,” Gwyn answered instantly. He looked surprised at himself for a moment and then stood awkwardly. “I’m just going to call that woman back and let her know that I’m not interested.”

“Thank you,” Augus sighed.

Gwyn shuffled hesitantly toward the bedroom door as Augus flopped backward on the bed. He couldn’t risk allowing Gwyn to search out his own job, which he seemed to have already been doing. That was it. He would have to go forward with his idea, regardless of his own hesitations.

* * *

The next morning, Augus woke up early and shuffled into the kitchen to start the coffee. He cracked a few eggs in a pan and popped four slices of bread into the toaster. It was only a matter of a few minutes before Gwyn came wandering into the kitchen behind him, lured by the scent of food.

Augus scraped two eggs onto a plate and threw some toast beside them. He handed the plate and a mug of coffee to Gwyn and pushed him toward the dining room table.

“What’s all this?” Gwyn mumbled as he slowly sat down. He stared at the plate in front of him like it was full of neon pink snakes winking flirtatious hellos to him.

“It’s breakfast,” Augus answered flatly, taking the seat across from Gwyn and dousing his eggs with pepper. When Gwyn just stared at him as if Augus was only continuing the mystery, he sighed and continued. “I have something I’d like to show you today. However, I want you to eat first,” Augus explained.

Gwyn frowned down at his breakfast for a few seconds as if not really trusting it, before pulling the eggs together on top of the toast and making himself an egg sandwich. Augus felt a little better after watching Gwyn tuck in and began to eat himself shortly after.

Within a half hour, Augus had herded Gwyn in and out of the shower, into his clothes, and out the door with him. The two of them were bundled up against the cold winter breeze. Augus was snuggled into his dark gray peacoat and green wool scarf while Gwyn was wrapped in a beige parka and black knit cap. Both of their noses turned pink after a few minutes outside.

“Where are we going?” Gwyn asked curiously after a few minutes of walking toward the business district.

Augus ignored him and continued to march forward.

Gwyn sighed quietly into the the collar of his parka, but followed behind Augus obediently.

They walked side by side in silence for almost fifteen minutes before Augus finally came to a stop in front of an empty store front. Gwyn stopped beside him and looked back and forth between Augus and the dingy glass of the empty store. There was a red ‘For Lease’ sign in the bottom left corner of the display window. The morning sun hadn’t yet broken through the dense cloud cover above them, so most of the inside of the shop was cast into an indistinguishable gloom.

Gwyn shuffled his feet and his brow curled in confusion.

“What is it?” he asked reluctantly.

Augus lifted one shoulder in a shrug.

“An idea,” he answered simply, still staring at the empty storefront.

Gwyn looked back and forth between Augus and the empty storefront a few times, confusion creasing his brow, before Augus took pity on him and explained.

“You said that you need something to focus on,” Augus began. “I agree. Your credentials are too unusual to recommend you to most jobs. So, why not create a job curtailed to your credentials?” Augus asked, turning to Gwyn. Gwyn only stared back at Augus. He still looked confused, but there was also a glimmer of interest and recognition in his eyes.

“You’ve spent almost ten years running one of the most successful coffee shops in Cardiff. Starting another one from the ground up would be hard work. Incredibly hard work. But, luckily for the both of us,” Augus said with a sigh and another shrug, “you are entirely too experienced in the area.”

“You’re proposing that I open my own coffee shop,” Gwyn said slowly, looking back at the storefront with a new appreciation.

Augus stepped briskly toward the dirty glass window. “It’s located very well. Not too far away from the tourist areas, but far enough away not to put off locals. I already called the owner and it was previously a falafel shop, so it has a counter and kitchen in the back. We would need to buy a lot of the equipment, but I’m sure we can get it cheap somewhere. The rent isn’t too much, since the building is old and needs some cleaning up. And, you had said you had saved up a lot of money, so ...”

Augus turned back to Gwyn. He felt a little breathless, his chest constricted with a mixture of excitement and trepidation.

Gwyn slowly tracked his eyes back to Augus and nodded.

“Yes,” he said quietly.

“Yes what?” Augus asked, stepping closer.

“Yes, let’s do it,” Gwyn replied evenly.

“ ‘Let’s’ ?” Augus asked with a raised eyebrow.

“Of course,” Gwyn replied. “We already live together, we might as well go into business together.”

Augus felt his face stretch into a grin, the tightness in his chest listing sharply into excitement. With a quick step, he pressed himself to Gwyn’s front and wrapped his arms around his neck before laying a sound kiss on Gwyn’s chapped lips.

Gwyn looked down at Augus, pleased surprise painted in broad strokes across his face.

“What was that for?” he asked.

“I don’t know,” Augus replied. “Sometimes you’re just brilliant.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Again, sorry for the delay. Also, sorry that this chapter is tiny. I opted to keep it small and get it out sooner rather than to keep trying to wring some more words out of myself.
> 
> The last chapter will be an epilogue and should be easier than this one. So, look forward to that! If there's anything in particular you'd like to see, just say so, otherwise I only have plans to sort of brush lightly over everyone.
> 
> Also! All that stuff about Starbucks is true, to the best of my knowledge. There are other reasons not to buy Starbucks, but those I thought would bother Augus the most. ;D


	12. Chapter 12

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> New tags -> bondage and butt plugs.

It was another cold day that found Terho making the long trek from his grandmother’s house to the coffee shop. He had a new hat, a long green stocking cap, pulled low over his ears and a matching scarf with fringe wrapped twice around his face. The tops of his cheeks and the tip of his nose were bright pink from the cold. Around him people bustled by in the early morning light. Some were dressed in school uniforms, others in suits skirts, still more in casual clothes who could be going anywhere. It was early and everyone was getting their day started just like Terho.

The sharp smell of the sea added a sting to the cold as Terho rushed through the area near the water. As he continued by, head down, something caught his eye. He stopped by a familiar store front and stared into the dark windows. The lights were off and the chairs were still upside down on top of the tables even though the sun was already slowly rising in the eastward sky.

“No way...” Terho breathed against the glass. He cupped his hands around his face to block out the light so he could better see into the shop. He could then see that the display cases and shelves were all empty. The counters had been completely cleared off and wiped down as well.

Stepping back, Terho glanced around him to see if anyone had taken notice of him, but it didn’t look like it. There was a teenage girl walking down the street past him, but her head was turned down toward the phone in her hand and she didn’t seem to take any notice of him.

Heart beating fast, Terho rushed down the street past her. He ran down the main street and hung a hard right down another side street. He kept running until his lungs ached in his chest and he eventually had to slow down to a brisk jog.

When Terho finally reached his destination, his breath was coming fast and causing big clouds to puff white in front of his face. The bell on the door jingled loudly as he pushed it open and rushed inside.

“Whoah, whoah, darling!” Gulvi said from nearby. She was lounging in a worn red armchair near the door when Terho turned to her. She had a mug of something that smelled spicy and herbal in one hand and a newspaper in the other. She set them both down and stood up as Terho rushed up to her. “What in the world has gotten into you?” she chuckled.

“They’re closed!” Terho gasped, staring up at Gulvi with big eyes.

“What is closed?” Gulvi asked, frowning down at Terho and cocking her hip a little bit.

“Seelie’s! The Seelie shop is closed!” Terho exclaimed, roughly yanking his scarf away from his face. “The lights are off, none of the chairs are down, all the merchandise has been taken off the shelves. Even the display is empty. Oh! And, the door was locked,” Terho rambled on excitedly.

“Wow, really?” Gulvi asked, her pale eyebrows rising. “I knew they were having a rough time, but I didn’t actually think they’d close,” she said quietly.

“We have to tell Gwyn! Is he in the back?” Terho asked, pulling off his hat and struggling with his jacket.

“Oh, la! He’s still upstairs, I believe. I’ll go get him, darling. Man the counter, if you could?” Gulvi asked before waving a hand over her shoulder and walking toward the back of the shop. She opened a door behind the counter that lead to a set of steep stairs which lead up to the building’s second level.

As she stepped onto the first step someone else came clattering down them in such a hurry that they almost bowled her over.

“Excuse me,” Ash grumbled, catching Gulvi by her upper arms and shuffling her out of his way so that he could exit fully into the shop.

“This is obviously a morning for surprises. What are you doing up?” Gulvi asked, raising an eyebrow at Ash.

The mess that was his hair and his expression of bleary distress was all she needed to see to know that he had just rolled out of bed. He was wearing a pink shirt that said ‘Shut up about your diet. Just eat your salad and be sad.’ and some gray sweatpants with no shoes. Gulvi could have sworn that was her shirt, but couldn’t fathom how Ash would have gotten it.

“They’ve been at it all morning!” Ash groaned before collapsing into the armchair that Gulvi had just vacated. He picked up the mug she had left behind and held it under his nose before taking a deep wiff. “Ooo, is this chai? A chai latte? Yes, chai,” he groaned before taking a deep swallow.

Gulvi just rolled her eyes before poking her head back into the hall and cocking her head. She listened carefully for a pregnant moment before the sound of a deep moan traveled down to her. Her lips twitched into a smile that she couldn’t quite contain.

“Aw,” she cooed as she came back to the shop and shut the door. “They’re already celebrating and they don’t even know what for.”

“What is there to possibly celebrate about?” Ash grumbled into Gulvi’s cup. “Especially at the buttcrack of dawn?”

“It’s already 8 am, Ash,” Gulvi deadpanned back to him.

“I went past the Seelie shop this morning on my way in and it was all closed up!” Terho said excitedly to Ash as he came back to the front counter. He had tucked his winter gear in the back and put on an apron that proudly said ‘Classless Coffee’ in a funky font on the left breast.

“Like, for vacation?” Ash asked, confusion coloring his voice.

“No, like, permanently!” Terho exclaimed.

Ash squinted at him from over Gulvi’s mug. “That’s ... good?” he said doubtfully.

“It is,” Terho said defiantly, his expression shifting from excitement to hurt.

“I don’t know. I mean, I guess that’s good for the shop, but I don’t even know those guys. I don’t feel like I should be wishing bad things on people I don’t even know,” Ash explained plaintively.

Gulvi walked over and dropped a kiss on the top of Ash’s head before snatching back her chai latte. “Don’t worry, darling. It couldn’t have happened to worse people,” she said.

Ash leaned over the side of the armchair to make grabby hands at Gulvi and whine at her to bring the latte back for a few seconds before a loud bump sounded from the floor above, followed by the sound of angry talking. All three stood still staring at the ceiling before Ash groaned and fell back into the chair.

“It doesn’t stop,” he moaned, letting his head fall back against the chair.

“Come on, they’re young and in love,” Gulvi chided Ash, taking a seat on the arm of Ash’s chair.

“Yeah, but, have some respect for the guy living in your attic, you know? It’s one thing to have to overhear their arguments and then try to act like I didn’t. It’s a whole other thing to hear some guy moaning all night long and then have to wake up and look him in the eye the next day,” Ash complained.

“Augus?” Terho asked curiously.

Gulvi raised an eyebrow at the boy behind the counter. He blushed, but didn’t look away.

“Ugh! I wish it was my brother! I think I could sort of deal with that,” Ash exclaimed.

Gulvi watched Terho flush three shades deeper. She smiled a toothy smile at the little barista.

Just then, the bell on the door rang as a group of giggling girls walked in. They took one look at Ash and their giggles kicked up a notch.

“Alright, back to work,” Gulvi said as the girls walked up to the counter and began ordering their drinks with Terho. “You, go back up there and put on shoes if you want to hang out in the shop. And, tell those two to come down. We have news!” Gulvi said, giving Ash a playful slap.

“Noooo,” Ash moaned. “Don’t make me face them!”

Gulvi shot Ash an unimpressed look.

“Dammit,” he muttered, before pushing himself to his feet and shuffling slowly back toward the stairs.

* * *

That day was one of celebration. The whole day the shop was buzzing with positive excited energy. At the end of the day, Gwyn, Augus, Ash, Gulvi, and Terho all piled into a booth in the back of an old pub and ate and drank until they were about ready to burst at the seams. After everyone was either full or drunk, they all stumbled away in different directions.

Terho went home to his grandparents, Gulvi went back to her apartment, and Gwyn, Ash, and Augus all went back to the shop and the apartment they shared above it.

“Ta, boys,” Ash laughed as he continued up the stairs past Gwyn and Augus and toward the attic level where he had started living. “Do try to keep it down. Even starving artists need to sleep sometimes.”

“Invest in some earplugs,” Augus sniped back before dragging Gwyn into their bedroom and kicking the door shut behind him.

“I’m glad that everyone is excited,” Gwyn muttered into Augus’ hair. He had his arms around the other man’s shoulders, Augus a grounding weight and also a helpful hand. Gwyn felt glad that Augus never liked alcohol much, it helped to have a sober person walking next to you when you were drunk.

“But, I’m still worried that it might just be a misunderstanding,” Gwyn continued.

Augus mouthed at Gwyn’s neck as he slowly tugged Gwyn toward the bed. “The shop really was empty, Gwyn,” he said, his voice slightly muffled from where he had it pressed against Gwyn’s jaw. “We all saw it, everything was moved out of it.”

“They could just be moving. Maybe to somewhere smaller, maybe bigger. Maybe they just had to move,” Gwyn argued. He grunted as the back of his knees met with the side of the bed and he sat down heavily on the mattress.

Augus curled a smile at him in the dim light and straddled Gwyn’s lap. “I called their phone number and it was disconnected. Why wouldn’t they move their number or set it up to forward? Why not add a message saying they’d moved or closed? Unless they completely closed out their account with the phone company.”

Gwyn’s face looked doubtful, but Augus could see him buckling under reason.

“In fact, why not leave a sign in the window. ‘Moved to’ whatever! They’re gone, Gwyn. Just admit it. You won and he lost,” Augus whispered, his smile wide and toothy as he leaned down to bite harshly into Gwyn’s shoulder.

Gwyn grunted at the sharp pain and then sighed as Augus ran the flat of his tongue over the sore spot.

“It’s just hard to believe,” Gwyn said quietly. “It’s barely been a year.”

Augus pulled back and looked into Gwyn’s face searching. After a moment of looking at one another, Augus smiled tentatively and clapped his hands onto the top of Gwyn’s shoulders.

“You know what? I think I have just the thing to cheer you up,” Augus said, before stepping back out of Gwyn’s lap and moving to the closet. “I was saving it for Christmas, but this seems as good of a time as any.” Augus paused while rustling through the bottom of the closet and turned to look at Gwyn with a critical eye. “Take off your clothes and kneel on the bed facing the window,” he said, the edge of command seeping into his voice.

Gwyn swallowed around a sudden lump in his throat. ‘Ah,’ he thought to himself. ‘It’s that kind of gift.’

Gwyn did as Augus asked him, pulling his long sleeve shirt off over his head and dropping it onto the floor. He then unbuttoned his pants and pulled them down over his hips. He shucked his boxers and socks along with his pants which went on top of his shirt in a pile on the floor.

In the nude, the cool air of the apartment rushed in to kiss his bare skin. They had left the heat off in the building while they were out and the pipes clicked and banged as they worked to bring heat up from the furnace in the basement and into the rest of the building. Until they succeeded, it would be cold.

Gwyn could feel his nipples tighten and his genitals retreat into his body, but did his best to ignore it. He turned on his knees and sat with his legs tucked under him facing the far wall. He was never sure what to do with his hands when Augus asked him to kneel. He decided to fold them carefully in his lap.

“Here it is,” Augus grunted, finally finding the box he was looking for shoved all the way into the far corner of the closet. “Merry Christmas,” Augus sang as she crawled up onto the bed and held the item out in front of Gwyn.

“... What is it?” Gwyn asked after a long pause. It looked like a long strip of leather with a large collar at one end and a much smaller collar at the other.

“It’s for you,” Augus answered with a smirk.

“I - nevermind,” Gwyn sighed with a put out expression.

Augus smiled at him before moving around to kneel behind Gwyn. He tilted Gywn’s head up with a gentle finger under his chin. After doing so he deftly fastened what Gwyn identified as the large collar around his throat. It was wider than the other collar and softer along the inside. It fastened with a buckle at his throat. The long strip of leather fell down between Gwyn’s shoulder blades.

After securing the first collar, Augus gently grasped Gwyn by his elbows and pulled until they were touching behind his back. After he had placed Gwyn’s arms where he wanted them, Augus secured the smaller collar around Gwyn’s elbows. Surprised, Gwyn strained against the leather a little bit to test his range of movement.

“If you break this, I’ll be very angry at you,” Augus said as he stood and moved back over to the closet.

Gwyn felt his cheeks heat and was glad that he was still facing away from Augus so that he wouldn’t see it. “I won’t break it,” he muttered and stopped straining against the strap. It was a different position, a type of constriction that Augus hadn’t tried with him yet. He felt exposed. With his elbows fastened behind him, Gwyn had to push his chest out. With his throat being pulled toward his elbows, Gwyn couldn’t tilt his head down very far. He got the impression that this would be a very difficult position to hold for a long amount of time.

“Okay, dearheart,” Augus whispered in Gwyn’s ear as he settled behind him and pressed Gwyn forward with a firm hand on his shoulder. “Here comes the second part.”

Gwyn jumped at the feel of something cold and wet being pressed against his crack and then down and in at his entrance. Gwyn recognized the texture and familiar coldness of that particular item. They had played with it before. He could picture it clearly in his mind’s eye, a gray and black speckled marble butt plug that Augus had turned up with from locations unknown a few months ago.

“Relax,” Augus whispered into his ear, slowly pressing in with the plug before relenting a moment later. Gwyn took a deep breath and tried to relax against the press.

The plug was cold and very smooth. It was also heavy and unyielding, Gwyn remembered. He could feel the unyielding part with every press Augus gave his entrance, spreading him open a little more each time. He knew that once the toy was settled inside him that he would feel the weight of the plug, unusual compared to everything else they had played with so far.

“You’re doing so well, Gwyn,” Augus whispered into his ear, his hand still holding him firmly by the shoulder. “Stay open for me,” he breathed.

Gwyn did his best to do just that. He focused on relaxing his anus and could feel the plug penetrate him a little deeper each time until on one push the widest part of the plug slid inside him. Gwyn gasped as the stretching feeling crescendoed before disappearing almost completely.

Augus rubbed the skin around Gwyn’s hole with the tips of his long fingers and dropped kisses along the top of Gwyn’s shoulders and the back of his neck. “There were are,” he breathed. “Perfect.”

Shuffling on his knees, Augus came around Gwyn to crouch in front of him. He used the hand on his shoulder to tilt Gwyn backward and gave Gwyn’s straining torso and hard dick an appreciative look.

“Now, then,” Augus whispered. “Don’t drop that plug and I’ll be very happy,” Augus said with a smile before grasping Gwyn by the base of his dick.

Gwyn gasped and clenched around the plug still deep in his ass. The stone plug was heavy, the widest part of it already pulling at him as its weight urged it downward. Augus had played similar games with the plug before, setting up rewards and punishments for being able to hold the plug inside of himself for whatever arbitrary time period that Augus set up. He could tell that Augus was becoming fond of the toy and the different ways it afforded itself to their play.

Augus worked Gwyn’s dick like a finely tuned instrument that he was extremely familiar with. Which, Gwyn supposed, was closer to true than not. His long thin fingers squeezed Gwyn’s dick as they moved up and his thumb passed over Gwyn’s head every few pulls. Gwyn soon found himself pulled between two sensations, the delicious friction of Augus’ hand on his dick and the heavy weight of the plug in his ass.

At some point Gwyn became aware that Augus had undone his pants and had his other hand wrapped around his own dick, matching the pace to the way he was jerking Gwyn off. The image of Augus working them both over in time made something hot twist around in the pit of Gwyn’s stomach and he bucked up hard into Augus’ hand.

Augus chuckled in the back of his throat and leaned forward to bite Gwyn’s ear hard. Gwyn grunted and leaned away from him, but Augus just followed. “If only you could see yourself,” Augus husked against Gwyn’s throbbing ear. “Maybe we should make some home movies?” Augus asked, the edge of a joke in his voice.

“Please don’t,” Gwyn gasped, trying to control another stuttered thrust of his hips.

Laughing breathlessly, Augus replied, “Only because you asked so nicely.”

Gwyn’s hands spasmed behind his back and his chest heaved as his pleasure built. He tried to focus on clenching around the plug so that it wouldn’t fall out, but the more his pleasure increased the more difficult it was for him to remember that he had to do anything other than let Augus milk him dry.

Augus himself was getting closer to the limit of his endurance. He had been happy all day and had been even happier to have an occasion to pull out the new restraints he had bought. He had to admit to himself that Gwyn looked nicer in them than even he had expected and he had a nearly infinite capacity to appreciate how nice Gwyn could look tied up and split on a cock.

Breathing harshly, Augus adjusted his grip on Gwyn and himself before leaning up to capture Gwyn’s panting mouth in a deep kiss.

“Come for me,” he said against Gwyn’s lips. “I want you too.”

As if on command, Gwyn’s muscles bunched and his face pinched and Augus knew he was coming. Pitching forward, Gwyn buried his face in the crook of Augus shoulder and swallowed a roar before it could erupt from his mouth. Augus kept pumping Gwyn for a few seconds after the last of his seed had spilled over his fist, until Gwyn bit out a hurt sound and struggled to move away from Augus’ hand. That little sound was enough to put Augus over the edge and he followed behind Gwyn with a few soft exhalations before he finished up with a contented sigh.

Augus carefully pried both of his hands away from their dicks and ran his sticky palms over Gwyn’s stomach to rid himself of most of their jizz. Gwyn grunted and made a face before trying to lean away.

Clicking his tongue, Augus hauled Gwyn back with a hand in his hair. “Hold still. I’ll clean you up after we get you out of this,” Augus said sharply.

Reaching up, Augus undid the collar at Gwyn’s throat before reaching behind Gwyn’s back to carefully undo the buckle at his elbows. After the restraint was dropped away, Augus gently held Gwyn’s elbows and drew his arms forward slowly until both arms were straight out in front of him. Gwyn winced as the tight muscles were slowly stretched out.

“You might feel this in the morning,” Augus said in sympathy.

Gwyn just continued to frown at Augus. Augus smiled back at him mischievously before leaning forward and reaching behind Gwyn to pull at the plug still seated inside him. Slowly, Augus pulled the plug until it popped out of Gwyn with a slick sound that made color jump to the larger man’s cheeks. Augus then started to press back in with the plug. Gwyn’s hands hesitantly settled on Augus’ waist, his breathing speeding up a little at the sensation. He felt sensitive, his body too open after what had just happened.

Augus pulled the plug in and out of Gwyn three times before Gwyn bit out a warning hiss of “Augus.”

The other man sighed and removed the plug before standing and moving toward the bathroom out in the hall. Gwyn sighed and continued to kneel on the bed. He heard the water running and then the linen closet open and close. He counted the footsteps until Augus was crawling back into bed with him and running a warm wet washcloth over his stomach and dick.

Augus wrapped his arms around Gwyn from behind and dropped a kiss on his shoulder.

“Did it work?” he asked quietly.

“Hm?” Gwyn grunted back at him, closing his eyes and enjoying the warmth that was seeping into him from Augus’ body.

“Did it cheer you up?” Augus asked, sounding unimpressed.

Gwyn opened his eyes and turned to look into Augus’ deep green ones. “Exceedingly,” he rumbled back at him.

Augus’ mouth kicked up on side and his eyes crinkled slightly in a smile. He leaned forward and pressed his lips to Gwyn’s, his breath warm his tongue tasting like loam and steamed milk.

“Perfect,” Augus whispered back.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The end.
> 
> Thanks so much to everyone who read my story! I hope you all enjoyed it! *kisses*


End file.
